Private flight and shared charter provider Tradewind Aviation has added a pair of Pilatus PC-12 NGXs. The Oxford, Connecticut-based operator now has 27 PC-12s in service, which it says makes it the largest U.S. operator of the type for on-demand charter services. Fractional ownership group Plane Sense operates around 45 PC-12s.
Tradewind pilots flew the PC-12 NGXs in from Pilatus’ U.S. facility in Broomfield, Colorado, where they had some fine-tuning after being delivered from the manufacturer’s headquarters in Switzerland. The pair entered service based out of New York's Westchester County Airport. The operator is slated to take 15 more deliveries from Pilatus, and these are due to arrive at a rate of three or four each year over the next four years.
According to Tradewind, it has seen demand for flights bounce back to pre-pandemic levels during 2023. The company operates the PC-12s for trips within the Northeast and Southeast regions of the U.S., as well as in the Caribbean.
“In 2023 we saw the launch of our Southeast base, the addition of a hangar at Hudson Valley Regional Airport, and the arrival of five new Pilatus PC-12 NGX to our growing fleet,” said Tradewind co-founder and CEO Eric Zipkin.
The NGX is the latest version of the PC-12 and includes several improvements that Pilatus says have made it more reliable, efficient, and comfortable.
This story was updated on December 13 to clarify points relating to the size of Tradewind Aviation's fleet.