Quest Kodiak 100

The Quest Kodiak 100 is a single-engine turboprop with a high wing, fixed landing gear and a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 of 750 hp. Quest Aircraft designed it for short, unpaved strips, and since Daher took over the company it has been built as the Daher Kodiak 100 Series III. Aid organisations, skydiving centres and air taxi firms fly it.

A simple cabin built for people and cargo

Daher gives the cabin as 4.83 m long, 1.37 m wide and 1.45 m high. The seats sit on rails and come out quickly, because the same aircraft often carries freight or parachutists. There are three doors, one of them a cargo door of 1.25 x 1.25 m, and the high wing leaves the view downwards open for the whole flight. Layouts range from eight passengers with their bags to six with bulky equipment, and the offer states how the proposed aircraft is fitted.

• No pressurisation, so with passengers the Kodiak flies low, usually up to about 3,000 m
• No toilet, no galley and no flight attendant
• The engine sits right in front of the cabin and is heard all the way, so headsets or earplugs help
• Wi-Fi is normally not fitted

Baggage, bicycles, skis and a dog

There is no separate baggage hold. Bags travel behind the seats or in the optional pod, and the operator can take out unused seats so that bicycles, skis or golf bags go in through the cargo door.

A dog flies in the cabin, a large one in a crate loaded through the cargo door. The operator has to approve it in advance, and within the EU the animal needs:

• a microchip
• a rabies vaccination given at least 21 days before travel
• an EU pet passport
• tapeworm treatment 1-5 days before arrival in Finland, Ireland, Malta, Norway or the UK

Short strips, water and the single-engine rules

At maximum cruise speed Daher quotes 1,861 km. The certified ceiling is 7,620 m, but without pressurisation the Kodiak stays lower with passengers.

Samedan (1,799 m at about 1,700 m elevation) and Sion (2,000 m) suit a crew trained for the mountain approach, and the 1,071 m runway at La Môle near Saint-Tropez, open only to light jets and turboprops with seasonal limits, is long enough for the type.

Single-engine rules in Europe

• Only an operator holding an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) may fly you, often a small company with this type
• Any EU operator may fly Hamburg - Sylt, but UK domestic legs are open only to UK operators

Routes from European hubs

Thirty-two one-way legs from all thirteen hubs, from Amsterdam - Brussels at 158 km to Zurich - Olbia at 733 km, all without a fuel stop. Prices are for the whole aircraft with pilot and fuel, without airport fees and passenger taxes. Flight time is calculated on the great-circle distance plus taxi, climb and approach.

Up to two hours: the type's own territory

Two to three hours: possible, but long without a toilet

The calculator gives an indicative price for the Kodiak and other types on your route. If your airfield is not on the list, name it in the request.

What a Kodiak charter costs

The indicative rate is EUR 2,000 per flight hour for the whole aircraft with pilot and fuel. A one-hour leg costs about three times that: Zurich - Sion takes 1:02 h and starts at EUR 6,000, because the operator adds a minimum charge and the empty legs between its base and your airports.

With distance the fixed part weighs less: Nice - Olbia (1:40 h) starts at EUR 7,500, Milan Linate - Olbia (2:08 h) at EUR 8,500 and Paris Le Bourget - Nice (2:44 h) at EUR 9,500, whether two or eight people fly.

The quote covers the whole aircraft; shared between the passengers, Nice - Figari comes to:

How to pay less

• Fly from the operator's base or close to it, so no long positioning is added
• Choose dates outside the skydiving season, when the aircraft is not busy with its main work
• Return the same day if the pilot's duty time allows, which saves a hotel and a second positioning
• Let us quote a Grand Caravan or a PC-12 alongside the Kodiak, since the aircraft closest to you is often the cheapest

Empty Legs on the Kodiak

With few aircraft in European passenger charter, Empty Legs on this type are rare. When one appears, it is usually a return to base after a one-way trip, and it can be 30-60% cheaper than a normal charter. These are examples: the date and route are fixed, and the operator may cancel the leg if the aircraft gets a full booking.

Send your route and a date window to empty-legs@jets.flights or through the Empty Legs page, and we include other turboprops in the search.

Kodiak, Grand Caravan, PC-12 or Islander

Operators use three other types for similar work.

What we need for a quote

Tell us where you want to fly from and to, how many people travel and what you take along, with rough weights for bulky items.

Questions about the Quest Kodiak 100

• • How much does a Kodiak cost from Nice to Calvi?

  • From EUR 6,000 for the whole aircraft one way, with a flight time of 1:05 h according to the table. Nice to Figari starts at EUR 7,000. Airport fees and passenger taxes are added in the quote.

• • What makes up the price?

  • Flight time at the hourly rate, positioning from the operator's base, the pilot's hotel if the aircraft waits, airport or strip fees, passenger taxes and de-icing in winter.

• • Why does a one-hour leg cost more than the hourly rate?

  • Because of the minimum charge and positioning. Amsterdam to Brussels takes 1:01 h and starts at EUR 6,000, while Zurich to Olbia (2:52 h) starts at EUR 9,500, so per hour the longer leg is cheaper.

• • How can I fly more cheaply?

  • Depart near the operator's base, avoid the busy skydiving season, return the same day when possible and let us compare a Grand Caravan or a PC-12 at the same time.

• • Are there Empty Legs on the Kodiak?

  • Rarely, because few aircraft fly passengers in Europe. A matching leg can be 30-60% cheaper, but the date is fixed and the operator may cancel it.

• • Can the Kodiak land on grass or water?

  • Yes. It was built for short, unpaved strips, and on floats it lands on water. A flight to a particular strip still needs the owner's permission and the operator's assessment.

• • How many people can fly?

  • The pilot and up to nine passengers. With baggage, four to six travel most comfortably.

• • Is there a toilet on board?

  • No, and the cabin is not pressurised, so the Kodiak suits legs of up to about two hours.

• • How far can it fly without a stop?

  • Daher quotes 2,096 km at economy speed and 1,861 km at maximum speed, with a 45-minute reserve; Zurich to Olbia (733 km) already takes 2:52 h.

• • Can we bring bicycles, skis and the dog?

  • Yes. The cargo door is 1.25 x 1.25 m, the operator can remove unused seats, and a dog flies in the cabin once the operator has approved it, with a microchip, a rabies vaccination and an EU pet passport.