WORLD PILATUS CUP JETSWISS EDITION
The largest sporting event in the world has arrived in the United States, and specifically, our hometown of Kansas City. Yes, I’m talking about the World Cup and “futbol.” Please don’t stop reading just yet.
I grew up with a disdain for soccer. However, my wife played in college, and my three daughters live and breathe the sport. A few years ago, I found myself standing at the “pitch” on a 100-degree August afternoon, and I was forced to make a decision: I was either going to be miserable for the next 20 years of my life, or I was going to learn to love this game. Fast forward to today, and I’m a Sporting Kansas City season ticket holder. Not only that, but I’ll be attending a World Cup match, and I’m writing about soccer in our company magazine. My 18-year-old self is wondering what happened to me.
Every four years, the world crowns a soccer champion. Coincidentally, statistics suggest that every four years, the average PC-12 changes hands.
A lot can happen in four years. We’ll likely have a new government in power. The world could face an energy crisis, a pandemic, geopolitical conflict, or tariffs that impact global trade and aviation. Sound familiar? All of these factors influence aircraft values. As our world becomes increasingly interconnected, it would be foolish to ignore global markets and the impact they can have on the value of our airplanes.
The Pilatus market is truly global. In fact, approximately 40% of the worldwide PC-12 fleet is based outside the United States. In theory, that should equate to roughly 40 to 60 pre-owned transactions annually outside North America. However, in 2025, only 25 pre-owned PC-12 transactions were completed with non-North American buyers.
In 2026 that figure surged. There have already been 23 closed transactions–17 of them in Europe, which has become noticeably more active. Let’s look at some recent comparable transactions between Europe and North America.
A 10-15% higher realized value in North America is a very real number. As a result, we’ve seen brokerdealers actively acquire publicly marketed PC-12s
in Europe with the sole intention of reselling them in the United States. This activity should help support European values as sellers begin to recognize that many of these transactions have effectively been occurring at wholesale-level pricing relative to North America.
I expect these “arbitrage” opportunities to become less common over time. The statistic we’ll need to watch is where the aircraft ultimately transact. If 2026 is any indication of future trends, there’s a growing probability that European-based aircraft will sell within Europe.
At this point, you’re probably thinking, “I should buy one of these European airplanes before the bargains disappear.” Not so fast, my friend. If it were truly that simple and there weren’t significant landmines hidden throughout the process, we at JetSwiss would be pursuing these opportunities ourselves.
The reality is that properly acquiring a foreignregistered aircraft is a major undertaking and carries substantial risk. We won’t dive into all of those details today, but if you’re seriously considering purchasing an aircraft outside your country’s borders, I strongly encourage you to contact us before proceeding.
North America has traditionally enjoyed home-field advantage in the Pilatus marketplace. But much like hopeful fans from France, England, or Portugal dreaming of a deep World Cup run, Europe appears to be making a serious push in the pre-owned PC-12 market.
In my view, a stronger European market ultimately strengthens the market in the United States. If U.S.
buyers become less attracted to foreign inventory, their focus remains domestic, and that simply becomes a supply-and-demand equation.
As we wrap up this World Cup edition of The Pulse, let’s have a little fun. We’re going to compare the tournament’s betting odds with JetSwiss’ odds for the 2026 Pre-owned Pilatus Marketplace Championship.
MARKET CHANGES IN THE LAST 30 DAYS
Holy Europe! I like their chances of making a run at the World Cup trophy. But if I’m betting my mortgage, it won’t be on soccer. I’ll take the odds on the Pilatus market continuing to evolve, mature, and grow.
I hope everyone enjoys the tournament over the next month. I know the four ladies in my house certainly will. Which means I have another decision to make... I guess I’ll choose to enjoy the competition as well.
Fly Safe, Scott Glenn
TIME ON MARKET
0-30 Days on Market
31-60 Days on Market
61-90 Days on Market
4-6 Months on Market
7-12 Months on Market
1-2 Years on Market
AVERAGE LISTING PRICE BY QUARTER | 2021-2026
$7M
HISTORICAL AVERAGE SALE PRICE
$9M
$8M
$7M
$6M
$5M
$4M
$3M
$2M
$1M
MAINTENANCE MINUTE
MAINTENANCE
With Bill Lento STAYING CURRENT
IN YOUR
PROGRAM
By going to training, you stay current on the operation of your Pilatus, but how do you stay current on what’s happening with your maintenance program?
Over time, the maintenance program for your aircraft evolves with the aircraft and there may be new options or upgrades available to you. Also, inspection items may become more restrictive or permissive. All of these factors need to be considered when planning your operations. Service centers do a great job monitoring the changing landscape for maintenance planning, but what if you knew about the changes before you arrive for your inspection?
Many Pilatus owners are members of POPA and attend the great conferences they put on. Those conferences tend to cater to the operations and ownership sides of the equation. Pilatus will have representatives there and frequently so will the maintenance teams from the local area. But what if you’re looking for a maintenance and operations focused event?
Recently, Pilatus hosted an operators’ conference in Orlando. These conferences are put on directly by
Pilatus and they bring many of their vendors to give updates on their own programs also.
Pratt and Whitney, Williams International, Garmin, Honeywell, Hartzell and CAE (formerly SIMCOM) were among the presenters along with the folks from Pilatus’s operations, tech support and engineering teams. Pilatus had a very frank discussion on the spare parts situation and what they are doing to improve it. Broadly, they have teams based at the vendors who are the most problematic pushing them to improve. They’re trying to qualify new vendors for the long term but getting new vendors approved by EASA and the FAA is a non-trivial task.
The good news for parts supply is that while Pilatus is not satisfied yet, the performance metrics show that all the indicators are moving in the right direction now.
Pilatus also gave updates on the new facilities under construction in Sarasota and Denver. Sarasota will add manufacturing capacity for PC-12’s in the US and an MRO facility. Denver is adding a new design and specification center as well as providing room for their
growing tech support teams. A team of Pilatus’ in-house pilots gave operational updates and shared tips for flying the PC-12 and PC-24. Pilatus engineering shared upcoming service bulletins, maintenance program changes and upcoming certification milestones. CAE talked about their facilities in Orlando and shared some of the most common mistakes they see in the simulators. Garmin gave a good presentation on the new PC-12 PRO avionics including a video of the autoland feature.
Do you have a propeller coming due for overhaul soon? Hartzell may have the answer for you. During their presentation, they introduced their new flat rate overhaul program. Their labor and parts are covered giving you a cost you can plan around. Basically, the only thing not covered is damage due to accidents such as propeller strikes.
Pilatus puts these conferences on generally once a year with one day each for PC-12 and PC-24. Contact your service center to get signed up for the next one. The only restriction is that you must be an owner or operator of a Pilatus.
$8.0M
$7.0M
$6.0M
$5.0M
$4.0M
$3.0M
$2.0M
$1.0M
AIRCRAFT
ASKING PRICE VS. TOTAL TIME
Similar to the Asking Price vs Model Year chart, this information helps our clients determine “the mileage on the car” for their specific budget. Want to own a low time aircraft? This chart will give you an indication on what you will spend. Note: aircraft under 1,000 hours total time historically yield much higher prices.
AIRCRAFT
ASKING PRICE VS. MODEL YEAR
This chart reflects the current market for Pilatus PC-12 aircraft that are on the retail market. Want to know how much your Pilatus dollars will buy? This is a great place to start! As you can see, the aircraft model year plays a key factor in pricing of the aircraft–thus generates a commensurate trend curve. This data provides a baseline for our aircraft evaluations.
MODEL YEAR
PC-24 BY THE NUMBERS
PC-24
OWNERS UPGRADE FROM THE PC-12NG MORE THAN ANY OTHER AIRCRAFT
AIRCRAFT ASKING PRICE VS. TOTAL TIME
This information helps our clients determine “the mileage on the car” for their specific budget. “Want to own a low time aircraft?” This chart will give you an indication on what you will spend. Note: aircraft under 1,000 hours total time historically yield much higher prices.
AVAILABLE
FOR SALE
9 Located in the USA
13 Located Internationally
TOTAL AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURED TO DATE
AIRCRAFT ASKING PRICE VS. MODEL
This chart reflects the current market for Pilatus PC-24 aircraft that are on the retail market. Want to know how much your Pilatus dollars will buy? This is a great place to start! As you can see, the aircraft model year plays a key factor in pricing of the aircraft–thus generates a commensurate trend curve. This data provides a baseline for our aircraft evaluations.
KICK OFF STARTS ON THE GROUND
With Richard Whittemore
If you haven’t heard yet, the United States is one of the three countries hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The World Cup will bring more than six million visitors to North America and generate sustained peak-level traffic across 16 host cities. Here in Kansas City, we’ll welcome teams and fans from around the world as airports, airspace, and air traffic systems experience increased demand.
With all of the excitement surrounding the World Cup, it’s easy to focus on the destination. But for pilots, the journey begins long before takeoff. Fortunately, as aviation professional Richard Whittemore reminds us, the best game plans start before takeoff.
Richard Whittemnore is a Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE), a National Insurance Instructor for the 525 Series (CJ), a three-time Master Flight Instructor with the National Association of Flight Instructors, and most recently, he was recognized as the 2025 Flight Instructor of the Year by the National FSDO. Kick us off, Richard!
THE BEST DEFENSE IS PREPARATION
When asked about the most common mistakes pilots make, Richard’s answer wasn’t surprising.
“In my opinion, it starts on the ground. Let’s take the proper 10 or 15 minutes before hopping in the airplane and going.”
During World Cup operations, that extra 10 minutes may be the most valuable time you spend all day.
The FAA expects:
• TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT INITIATIVES (TMIS)
• GROUND DELAY PROGRAMS (GDPS)
• TEMPORARY FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS (TFRS)
• INCREASED ROUTING CONSTRAINTS
• ADDITIONAL CROSS-BORDER PLANNING REQUIREMENTS
KNOW THE OPPONENT
During the World Cup, your “opponent” isn’t another aircraft–it’s congestion, delays, temporary flight restrictions, changing procedures, and the unexpected challenges that come with operating in one of the busiest aviation environments North America has ever experienced.
Richard specifically highlighted the importance of reviewing NOTAMs, briefing approach plates, and understanding the operational environment before departure.
The FAA recommends checking NOTAMs frequently during the tournament period, as TFRs surrounding stadiums may be published only a few days before events.
A missed NOTAM during the World Cup could mean:
• DELAYS
• REROUTES
• RESTRICTED AIRPORT ACCESS
• MISSED ARRIVAL SLOTS
STICK TO THE GAME PLAN
During peak traffic periods:
• Flight plans must generally be filed 6-24 hours prior to departure.
• Air-filed flight plans and airborne IFR pickups may be unavailable.
• Ground Delay Programs will require departures within assigned EDCT windows.
• VFR operations may experience significant delays and holding.
The lesson?
Don’t assume you’ll be able to “figure it out in the air.”
As Richard noted, situational awareness must always outweigh complacency.
FINAL WHISTLE
One of our favorite lessons from Richard came from a phrase an instructor once shared with him: “A bad student will scare you, and a good student will kill you.”
The point wasn’t about students. It was about complacency.
The more routine something becomes, the easier it is to assume everything will go according to plan.
The World Cup will create one of the busiest aviation environments North America has ever experienced. The pilots who come out on top will be the ones who prepare the best by taking an extra ten minutes on the ground, checking the NOTAMs one more time, and staying disciplined from kickoff to final whistle.
We have Red Bow Ready aircraft!
These aircraft have completed our full diligence process and are ready for immediate delivery.
Opportunities like this move quickly—don’t wait any longer.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW OUR CURRENT INVENTORY >
Sign up to receive this publication to your inbox at jetswiss.com/pilatus-pulse.
We appreciate your feedback! Please send any feedback to Pilatus@jetswiss.com.
2013 PILATUS PC-12 NG - SN 1421
2012 PILATUS PC-12 NG - SN 1332