Avantair was an aircraft

fractional ownership Fractional ownership is a method in which several unrelated parties can share in, and mitigate the risk of, ownership of a high-value tangible asset, usually a jet, yacht or piece of resort real estate. It can be done for strictly monetary reason ...

company, headquartered at

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a populat ...

, U.S.A.. Avantair provided fractional ownership, leasing and time card options within a fleet of twin-

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...

-engined P.180 aircraft. Avantair operated the largest fleet of Piaggio P180 aircraft in the world with a total fleet size of 56 aircraft as of June 2012. The company went out of business in 2013.

History

Avantair was founded in July 2003 as the exclusive fractional provider of the

Piaggio Piaggio & C. SpA (Piaggio ) is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under seven brands: Piaggio, Vespa, Gilera, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Derbi, and Scarabeo. Its ...

P.180 aircraft and in February 2007, became the only publicly traded (AAIR) stand-alone, private aircraft operator in the industry. Avantair grounded its fleet in October 2012 following an incident in which an elevator separated from the tail of an aircraft in Camarillo, California. In June 2013, Avantair grounded their fleet again due to questions about maintenance and replacement of time-sensitive parts. By the end of June 2013 the company announced that it could not pay workers for shifts worked after June 8, 2013. The company furloughed air and ground crew and was seeking additional financing to resume operations. The company was also the subject of several class action lawsuits and an individual suit alleging that it had failed to provide pre-paid service to customers.Avantair Fleet Sidelined Again
/ref> Avantair declared bankruptcy and then held an initial bankruptcy auction on January 10, 2014.

Fleet

*56 x

Piaggio P180 Avanti The Piaggio P.180 Avanti is an Italian executive transport aircraft with twin turboprop engines mounted in pusher configuration. It seats up to nine people in a pressurized cabin and may be flown by one or two pilots. The design is of three- ...

*1 x IAI-1125 Astra

References

External links

Official site
{{Airlines of the United States, state=collapsed Fractional aircraft ownership companies Defunct airlines of the United States Airlines based in Florida American companies established in 2003