Quest Aircraft says its strategy to sell and market the Kodiak single-engined turboprop through a global dealership network is paying off, as it expects to smash its annual delivery tally for the 10-seat, high-wing aircraft this year.
“We have already beaten our half-year shipment record by two aircraft," says Quest’s vice-president sales, marketing and customer service Steve Zinda. “By the end of the year, we expect to have exceeded our 2013 shipment total of 28, due to our expanding presence in key world regions. This was almost double the 15 Kodiak's we delivered in 2012,” adds Zinda. "We expect this trend to continue."
The Kodiak entered service in 2007, and for four years Quest’s headquarters in Sandpoint, Idaho was home to its sales and marketing effort.
“While we had some success with this strategy, our sales were limited mainly to North America, as we didn’t have first-hand knowledge of other regions of the world,” Zinda says.
Following a peak of 24 deliveries in 2009, Kodiak sales began to decline. Deliveries plummeted in 2010 and 2011 to 14 and 13 aircraft, respectively. “We needed to broaden our international market, so in 2011 we began to put a sales and distributor network together. This was solidified in 2012, and by 2013 we were adding new dealers and increasing our sales,” Zinda adds.
The company now has 14 dealerships covering 17 countries, and is looking to add two dealerships a year over the next four years, with the Middle East, India and Europe being key locations for the airframer. “We are highly selective – our dealers go through a vetting process. They must have their own servicing capability, financial wherewithal and own or have access to a Kodiak for demonstration purposes,” Zinda says.
Sales of the Kodiak are evenly split between utility, passenger and VIP owners/operators – for which it recently unveiled a new executive interior called the Summit. “We are always looking for ways to improve the aircraft and attract new buyers,” says Zinda.
On 8 September the US Federal Aviation Administration approved the integration of the Garmin GFC 700 automatic fight control system in the Kodiak.
The system was introduced following customer feedback, Zinda says. The GFC 700 is an attitude-based autopilot that integrates with the Kodiak’s G1000 avionics system and increases stability and control of the aircraft, he continues. The system will be a standard feature in new versions of the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34-powered Kodiak from the fourth quarter, and will also be available as an aftermarket retrofit for the current 100-plus Kodiak owners.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
