Quest Aircraft announced that the Kodiak displayed within the Aerocet booth (#255) at AirVenture is a part of a recently completed three-Kodiak fleet deal with Dimor Aerospace, the German-owned company that owns Waco Aircraft. Dimor will be equipping their Kodiaks for humanitarian aid and will be operating throughout Brazil, along the Amazon. Two of their Kodiaks will be outfitted with Aerocet 6650 composite floats. Delivery of all three aircraft is complete, and Dimor is in discussion with Quest about future aircraft.
Sven Lepschy, CEO of Dimor Aerospace, noted: “The Kodiak is a perfect fit for our mission. But ultimately the reason we chose to do business with Quest was due to our comparable business philosophies. At Dimor, excellent customer service that goes above and beyond expectations is paramount. We’ve experienced exactly that with Quest, and the refreshingly positive attitude in their leadership reflects down to each and every employee we’ve worked with.”
Similar to new Kodiak customers, Dimor will be enrolled in Quest Aircraft’s KodiakCare customer service plan, which Quest quietly launched in 2018. In addition to the standard two-year airframe warranty, KodiakCare provides owners 24/7/365 AOG Response teams, as well as 24/7 phone and e-mail technical support, and online access to technical publications. Additional KodiakCare features include a POH/AFM revision service, one-year enrollment to CAMP, and 2-years / 400 hours of enrollment in the ESP Gold Lite program for engine maintenance.
“The customer experience is the most important area we can invest in, and we’re committed to creating support programs that make our customers feel productive and cared for,” said Rob Wells, CEO of Quest Aircraft Company. “We believe KodiakCare does that, especially for the international market, where we’ve recently expanded our AOG and technical support hours to 24/7.”
Quest also announced that beginning with their 275th Kodiak, due to be completed in September of this year, Kodiaks will be now equipped with the latest Garmin GMA 1360 Audio Panel with Bluetooth connectivity. Owners and operators will enjoy the ability to connect their personal electronic devices directly to the aircraft audio panel. The pilot and passengers will be able to stream audio infotainment wirelessly with the enhanced audio panel.
Additionally, Quest announced the effective elimination of the Kodiak’s Maximum Zero Fuel Weight (MZFW). The removal of the MZFW limitation provides Kodiak operators with increased payload, mission capability, and operator flexibility, especially during shorter flights. This change is fleet-wide, covering all earlier model Kodiaks as well.
In June it was announced that Daher, the manufacturer of the TBM family of aircraft, intends to acquire Quest Aircraft Company. The acquisition’s closing is expected to be completed by the end of 2019, subject to approval by the appropriate authorities in both countries.
