I still pinch myself when I step into a Pilatus. I guess the older a person gets, the more sentimental experiences become. I feel so lucky, and hey, it’s March! My father always said, “Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, pal.” Or is it the other way around? Is it better to be good or lucky? Maybe it is a little bit of both…With Pilatus, being good has manifested itself into everyone feeling lucky: owners, pilots, service providers, and yes, even lonely sales folks. Agreed!
I don’t necessarily think the Swiss started the Pilatus program with a vision of what it would be today. I think they started with a core belief and an engineering design that calculated into a successful aircraft. It had size, performance, efficiency, technology… All the ‘calculations’ for a successful aircraft design. Over the years the aircraft evolved into a successful program that we all feel lucky to be a part of. The Roman philosopher Seneca said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” This quote, reminds us that we make our luck. I am here to tell you from the inside, Pilatus exemplifies this.
When I started with the program back in the late 90’s it was still in diapers. Depending on which day, or aircraft serial number, you might not have felt super lucky. Despite those early years and growing pains, we are all reminded how lucky we were to be a part of a good program and great aircraft.
I recently looked in my old logbook and I have serial number 101 in there! I was not a 10,000-hour pilot when I started working for Pilatus. My passion and experience with the aircraft grew over the last 25 years and I am lucky to say I’ve amassed thousands and thousands of flight hours. I have been fortunate to fly hundreds and hundreds of different serial numbers across every model variant. In this case, it’s better to be lucky than good. Yes Dad, Thank you.
So, what does all this sentimental stuff mean to you? It means that if you have, will, or did own a Pilatus, you will most likely feel quite lucky during the process. Lucky to operate such a great aircraft. Lucky to have ‘small batch’ production levels from a little town in Switzerland. Lucky to have great factory support and service, the list goes on and on. And luckily, all this “luck” has equated to high resale values!
The last few months have been awfully lucky for those looking to buy or sell an aircraft. The Pilatus market has seen a slow but steady increase in the number of airplanes for sale. This time last year there were 38 PC-12s for sale with NG’s averaging a $5.026M asking price. Today, there are 78 on the market and NG’s have an average asking price of $4.759M. That’s a 200% increase in inventory and only a 5% decrease in price. AREN’T WE LUCKY TO HAVE THE LUXURY OF OWNING/OPERATING AN AIRCRAFT THAT OFFERS SUCH A STABLE MARKETPLACE?
It’s easy to see changes in the marketplace when you look at it from a year-over-year viewpoint. Month to month, it’s more difficult to see the trees through the forest. However, there are small indications—such as a few more airplanes are becoming available each month than airplanes that are being sold. This month, we added 17 airplanes and only saw 4 transact. This has had a slight impact on pricing. Across all variants, the average price dropped 0.7%. AREN’T WE LUCKY TO HAVE SUCH STABILITY?
Lastly, the marketplace has an 8-month absorption rate. This is up from the lowest which resided at 1 month back in the fall of 2022. The marketplace thrives when there is competition, and it now has that. So, as we go into the luckiest month on the calendar, prepare yourself! Arm yourself with this data, mix it with a healthy market, and you too may feel lucky to fly Pilatus.
Fly Safe,
Bub