Daher Aircraft strengthens its customer support and distributor Network by adding the Kodiak to Columbia Air’s portfolio

Daher Aircraft announced the expansion of its customer support and distributor Network coverage by adding the Kodiak airplane family to the capabilities of Columbia Aircraft Sales and Columbia Air Services. As a long-standing partner in Daher’s global Network, Columbia Aircraft Sales and Columbia Air Services are among the most experienced authorized distributors and service providers for TBM aircraft – a relationship that began in 1990 with the distinction of being the very first TBM distributor.

With this latest agreement, its portfolio expands to include sales and full-service support for the Kodiak in North America across the following territory: Connecticut; Delaware; Maine; Maryland; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New York; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; Vermont; Virginia; Washington, D.C.; and West Virginia. The announcement was made during Daher Aircraft’s show-opening press conference at the SUN ’n FUN Aerospace Expo in Lakeland, Florida.
 
Nicolas Chabbert, the CEO of Daher Aircraft commented: “Columbia Aircraft Sales and Columbia Air Services have consistently set the standard for TBM customers, which is fully aligned with our strategy of delivering long-term value for the growing base of Kodiak and TBM owners/operators.Adding the ‘go anywhere’ Kodiak multi-mission product line to its portfolio builds on this – pairing our highly capable utility aircraft with a Network partner defined by expertise, reliability and strong customer relationships.”

Melissa Düzgüner, the CEO and Director of Sales at Columbia Aircraft Sales and Columbia Air Services stated: “Expanding our relationship with Daher to include the Kodiak is a natural progression for us. We’ve built a strong foundation supporting the TBM for decades, and we’re excited to bring this same level of service and commitment to Kodiak operators. Daher’s reputation and the strength of its product line give us tremendous confidence as we introduce the Kodiak to our customers.”

 
The approval now enables Columbia Air Services to provide comprehensive factory-authorized support for both Kodiak and TBM aircraft at its Groton, Connecticut headquarters (Groton-New London Airport/KGON), and at the new expansion facility in Martinsburg, West Virginia (Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport/KMRB). This includes maintenance, repair and overhaul, avionics upgrades and parts support.

She added that the organization’s recently established Martinsburg operation – featuring approximately 19,000 square feet of hangar space – was developed in part to support the new services for Kodiak. This location complements the company’s Groton campus, which includes two hangars of approximately 12,000 square feet each, along with offices and ramp space. Together, they provide comprehensive geographic coverage across Columbia’s U.S. territory – which also extends into Eastern Canada for the TBM. For the TBM/Kodiak distributorship responsibilities, a Columbia Aircraft Sales representative has been relocated from Groton to Martinsburg to provide an on-site presence.
 
In addition to Columbia Air Services’ maintenance, repair and overhaul capabilities, it operates a full-service avionics shop at the Groton location – and plans are underway to further expand these services to the Martinsburg facility. Columbia Air Services also is in the process of adding float certification to its FAA Part 145 approval, enabling full support for Kodiak aircraft operating on floats. For the distributorship, Columbia Aircraft Sales has taken delivery of its initial Kodiak 100 from Daher – a Kodiak 100 Series III version. The first of Daher’s larger, faster Kodiak 900s will be received later this year.