Freedom Air Grows West Coast Fleet with PC-12 Addition

Charter operator Freedom Air Services has added a Pilatus PC-12 to its fleet, the latest addition in an expansion that has tripled the company’s fleet size since it launched less than two years ago. The aircraft entered service in August and now operates out of Reno, Nevada, alongside the company’s Epic E1000 GX fleet.

Freedom Air said the PC-12 was added specifically to serve West Coast client demand, following a first year of rapid fleet growth and the May launch of East Coast operations at Palm Beach County Park Airport (KLNA) in Lantana, Florida. The PC-12 seats up to nine passengers and offers substantially more cargo capacity than the Epic E1000 GX, with short-field capability that gives clients access to smaller Western airports that longer-runway aircraft can’t use.

Joe Chaulklin, CEO and founder of Freedom Air Services and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, said the addition reflects direct client feedback. “I spent years in the Marine Corps learning that you plan for the mission you’ll actually fly, not the one you wish you had,” he said. “Our West Coast clients told us what they needed: more seats and more room for gear. The PC-12 answers both.”

Ryan Dos Ramos, president of Freedom Air Services, said the acquisition is about meeting client needs rather than fleet size for its own sake. “It’s about saying yes to more West Coast clients and more trips without asking them to compromise.”