After several years of weak sales in Brazil, Swiss aircraft manufacturer Pilatus recently announced plans to remedy the situation by signing OceanAir Táxi Aéreo as its new sales representative in that country.

The deal, revealed at LABACE, includes OceanAir’s acquisition of a new PC-12, which it will use in its air-taxi service and as a demo aircraft for potential clients. OceanAir, the exclusive Bombardier representative in Brazil, is also in the process of becoming a certified Pilatus maintenance center.

“We believe that the Pilatus PC-12 will serve a market currently not met by Bombardier products and will give OceanAir access to a larger market,” said OceanAir executive José Eduardo Brandão. He estimated PC-12 sales might reach four to five aircraft a year.

The PC-12 has a range of slightly more than 2,000 nm, said Brandão, “which means it can fly [nonstop] from São Paulo to anyplace in Brazil.” And he noted that many Latin American owners of large business jets have opted for a PC-12 as a second aircraft because of the airplane’s versatility.

To date, four PC-12s have been sold in Brazil. Target Táxi Aéreo previously represented Pilatus in Brazil.