$$ will always be a major factor, if not the only factor in the decision. Unless there is an overwhelming need for something the Beech can do vs. the PC-12, the PC-12 will win the battle on the spreadsheet, hands down. The King Air gets creamed on the balance sheet when the airplanes come up for the first major inspection/overhaul, where engine and related costs get multiplied by 2 for everything. Even if the Beech does something else better, once you get past the first engine/prop overhaul, the Beech is forever behind. Don't get me wrong, as a pilot I loved the King Air, but as a good steward of company resources, the PC-12 will make much more sense, provided both aircraft meet the operational requirements.For the SE/ME debate, most of the operational risk of a SE aircraft can be mitigated procedurally, just takes a different mindset, as pilots we don't like to go back to the SE, but sometimes it just makes good sense.

Given the operational requirements stated, maybe a VLJ is more fitting, the Eclipse 500 or an Adam is much better suited to the stated goals, and the E500 operates at a fraction of the cost of the Beech at the stated payload, (3 pax + some bags), the Beech can certianly do much more(and it does it very well), but that was not the stated operational requirement, the owner will be paying for capability he/she is not using. The VLJ also gives that multi engine warm fuzzy feeling too. Proper aircraft selection begins with solid honest assesment of operational requirements.

SD