Daher TBM 910 turboprop, a 2017 model; courtesy of Little Hawk Logistics LLC
Private air charter in the Daher TBM 910 turboprop is now available from Scottsdale Airport (SDL). Little Hawk Logistics LLC, an air charter broker and aircraft owner, arranges flights operated by 45 North Flight, an FAA-certificated direct air carrier, under Air Carrier Certificate 9CCA698M.
Little Hawk chose the Valley deliberately. The City of Scottsdale’s airport master plan forecasts annual charter passenger growth of 8.8%, roughly three times the projected growth rate for total airport operations, and the geography suits the aircraft. From Scottsdale, the TBM reaches Palm Springs, Las Vegas and St. George in about an hour; San Diego in just over an hour; Aspen and Denver in under two hours; and Pebble Beach in about two. Times are approximate. The TBM’s runway flexibility lets passengers use smaller airports near their actual destination, many with no airline service at all.
I brought my experience as an airline captain and 11 years at private aviation company NetJets to found Little Hawk Logistics in 2014, and have focused Little Hawk’s aircraft ownership and charter brokerage on the Daher TBM. The company’s aircraft have carried more than 7,000 passengers into more than 500 airports.
In October, I joined aircraft manufacturer Daher’s press conference at the NBAA-BACE convention in Las Vegas to discuss the TBM’s growing role in charter. We are entering the market carefully, and we will allow customer demand to guide what comes next. Scottsdale gives us the opportunity to introduce more customers to an aircraft that can reach many of the region’s most popular destinations quickly and efficiently.
The aircraft serving Scottsdale, equipped with Starlink internet, is hangered at Jet Aviation. Little Hawk Logistics is not a direct air carrier and does not exercise operational control over charter flights; all flights are operated by 45 North Flight.
Eric Walden is founder and president of Little Hawk Logistics LLC.
