DAHER-SOCATA's TBM 850 turbo-prop has exceeded it predecessor TBM 700 in aircraft deliveries thanks to a robust sales year in 2013.
Forty TBM 850s were delivered from the factory in Tarbes, France, bringing the total 850 fleet to 338 world-wide, 14 more than the TBM 700.
The delivery result marked the fourth-best year for TBM sales since the TBM 700 was first certified in 1990.
Stéphane Mayer, President and CEO of DAHER-SOCATA – the aerospace and defense activity of the DAHER Group – noted the TBM 850’s continued importance for the company’s overall operations.
“Aircraft manufacturing activity, with its successful TBM family, is a highly strategic business for DAHER-SOCATA and for DAHER,” he explained. “It demonstrates our capacity to handle the full range of responsibilities of a complex aircraft program. This is unique in the market, and highly appreciated by our customers in the field of aerostructures and services.”
Of the 40 aircraft delivered in 2013, 72% went into the USA, with Europe and Latin America making up the bulk of the remaining sales.
Only one aircraft was delivered into Australia.