French manufacturer Daher is launching a dedicated operators’ support package here at EBACE in anticipation of imminent EASA approval for commercial passenger operations under IFR (instrument flight rules) with single-engine turboprops (so-called SET-IMC, for instrument meteorological conditions),

The TBM 930 is the latest upgrade to the company’s legacy line of turboprop singles, which dates back to the original TBM 700. The latest version features aerodynamic enhancements and new touchscreen Garmin avionics. Daher continues to build 900s and 930s concurrently, and has stopped producing the previous model, the 850. The manufacturer is planning on around 50 TBM 900/930 deliveries this year from its Tarbes factory in southwest France.

“The Charter Pack is based on [support services] we offer operators in the regions where SET-IMC is already authorized,” said Nicolas Chabbert, Daher’s airplane business unit v-p. Most future operators under the hoped-for European regulation do not have a sophisticated support infrastructure, and the TBM Charter Pack helps fill in some needed support functionality, including supplying continuing airworthiness monitoring and making available a dedicated TBM maintenance hotline.

An extended version of Daher’s maintenance plan, the TBM Care Program, is also part of the offer, to cover commercial operators’ expected higher utilization rates. Pilot training will include mentoring. It will also address specific requirements of the new charter rules, such as specific training regimes for engine failure at takeoff, Chabbert said.

One operator, Vol Direct, received SET-IMC approval from French civil aviation authorities in 2013 and has logged nearly 1,000 flights since. The average flight duration has been 1.5 hours, with an average of two passengers on board. Vol Direct has operated mainly in the western part of France. The operator’s model is based on 50- to 60-minute flights, which translates into a cost of $300-to-$400 per passenger, according to Chabbert.

At the wider European level, EASA issued a favorable formal Opinion on allowing SET-IMC in November 2015. “The decision is on the side of the ministers of transportation to give a go-ahead to an EU OPS modification,” Chabbert said. However, authorities such as the CAA are treating this as a formality and advising operators to apply now ready to start operations later this year.

As of May 20, the TBM 900/TBM 930 product line had logged a total 143 orders and 118 deliveries. Daher hopes to match last year’s 55 deliveries this year.

Daher said it is pressing ahead with its new strategy to offer a family of aircraft, and executives have been hinting at a further expansion of the product line. CEO Didier Kayat, however, would not comment on what the next addition might be. The company is striving to understand the future needs of its clients and is “exploring all directions,” he said.

The latest retrofitable improvements to the current TBMs include ADS-B out, a flight data recorder and Bluetooth connection between the G1000 avionics and Garmin’s Pilot app for portable devices such as the Apple iPad and iPhone.