EADS’ TBM 850 Business Aircraft builds a strong customer base in the U.S. marketplace

Sales of EADS Socata’s new TBM 850 turboprop-powered business aircraft are being paced by orders from U.S. customers, which account for more than 70 percent of total bookings to date.

EADS Socata expects to deliver 50 TBM 850s this year, of which 41 are for the U.S. market, with the remaining aircraft sold in Europe, Asia and Africa. In 2006 – the first year of availability for this pressurized, very fast six-seat aircraft – EADS Socata delivered 36 TBM 850s to U.S. customers, while six more were sold elsewhere.

“We are extremely pleased with the TBM 850’s U.S. success, which clearly demonstrates the need for an aircraft combining the TBM 850’s speed, comfort and turboprop efficiency,” said Nicolas Chabbert, President of EADS Socata North America. “At a time when there is much talk about the new category of very light jets, the TBM 850 has found its place in the market. The attractiveness of a turboprop-powered aircraft is further reinforced by the growing cost of fuel, as well as its lower impact on the environment.”

EADS Socata is delivering an average of one TBM 850 per week to the United States, with a cadre of pilots performing transatlantic ferry flights from the aircraft’s Tarbes, France production site.

U.S. sales and support of the TBM 850 are managed by EADS Socata North America in Pembrook Pines, Florida, which has created a network of distributors and service centers across the country. This business unit of EADS North America provides sales, maintenance, spare parts distribution and technical support for the entire EADS Socata aircraft product line operated in North and South America.

TBM 850 customers in the United States include entrepreneurs, corporations and owner-pilots. The aircraft builds on the 15-year success of EADS Socata’s TBM 700 business aircraft, and provides a maximum cruise speed of 320 KTAS at a 26,000 ft. cruise altitude in ISA conditions. This performance gives TBM 850 operators the advantage of cruising speeds typical of light jets, with the economical direct operating costs of a single-engine turboprop.

In additional to its civil market use, EADS Socata North America also is offering the TBM 850 as a multi-role platform for U.S. homeland security, border patrol, drug interdiction, law enforcement and special operations missions. The aircraft can be outfitted with an electro-optical/infrared mission package and a fully retractable under fuselage turret, which is controlled by a “plug-and-play” operator’s console installed in the mid cabin.

To date, EADS Socata has sold approximately 380 TBM 700s and TBM 850s.

The TBM 850 is participating in this week’s Paris Air Show, where the aircraft is included in the static display at Le Bourget Airport.

EADS Socata is one of the world’s leading general aviation manufacturers, with more than 17,000 aircraft built since its creation as Morane-Saulnier in 1911. Current products include the TBM family of high-speed turboprops, TB GT piston aircraft, aerostructures for Airbus civil airliners, the A400M military transporter, Dassault Falcon jets, Eurocopter helicopters and Embraer regional jets. EADS Socata is expanding its customer service activities, to support its growing fleet of TBM and offer its light aviation expertise for aircraft below 5.7 metric tons through avionics modernization, maintenance, repair and overall package offers. Headquartered in Tarbes, France, with North American operations in Pembroke Pines, Florida, EADS Socata is a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS – a global leader in aerospace, defense and related services.

EADS North America is the North American operations of EADS, the second largest aerospace and defense company in the world. As a leader in all sectors of defense and homeland security, EADS North America and its parent company, EADS, contribute over $10 billion to the U.S. economy annually and support more than 190,000 American jobs through its network of suppliers and services. With 12 operating companies located in 30 cities and 17 states, EADS North America offers a broad array of advanced solutions to its customers in the commercial, homeland security, aerospace and defense markets.

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