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Avantair’s Unfortunate Undertakings
Avantair is an aircraft company that follows the method of fractional ownership, meaning, there are several unrelated parties who share the ownership. The company had their headquarters at the Clearwater, Florida, USA.
Avantair was once the exclusive fractional provider of the Piaggio P. 180 aircraft for four years. This company was founded in July 2003. In February 2007, the company became the only corporate jet charter in the industry.
The Piaggio P. 180 Avanti is an aircraft that has twin turboprop engines that are mounted in the pusher configuration, where the propellers are mounted on their corresponding engines.This is an Italian executive transport aircraft.
The aircraft can accommodate up to nine passengers with one or two pilots. This has a pressurized cabin that provides a safe and comfortable travel experience for the passengers and as well the crew on board even when flying at high altitudes.
The Piaggio P. 180 Avanti has a three-surface configuration design; the foreplane or wing configuration, the central wing, and the tailplane. The central wing surface is the largest and is the one that normally provides lift. Overall, each of the configurations plays an important role in promoting lift, control, and stability. They are also the ones responsible for the short takeoff and landing performance.
Avantair and Avanti are totally different. The latter has a forward wing and rearward facing propellers that were twin-jet powered, bringing more advantages, aerodynamically, ergonomically, and economically. This has an excellent short-runway performance with a speed of 460 mph. In addition, this requires a few amount of gas, unlike any other aircraft.
The Avantair and the Avanti created a fractional ownership that led to a common goal, and that is to provide a relatively much cheaper and affordable travel experience to all its passengers. Their private aircraft business grew swiftly and became the only corporate jet charter in the industry.
Avantair once operated 56 Avantis. Nearly a quarter of these aircraft has been produced over the 20 years.
But in October 2012, the Avantair suspended their commercial operations the Camarillo, California incident. This was when the elevator separated from the tail of the aircraft. The following year, they suspended their operations again as there were questions and doubts about the maintenance of the aircraft. It was believed that there are lapses in the aircraft’s replacement of the time-sensitive parts.
In June 2013, Avantair has undergone a financial crisis brought about by the operations suspensions that had happened in recent months. They were forced to allow their employees to go leave of absence temporarily as they don’t have enough funds to pay for the salary. It was in the same year and month when the company announced that they would not be able to pay the workers after the second week of June 2013. And it was by this time the company sought financial assistance and additional funds to resume operations.
Since there were no opportunities, Avantair announced bankruptcy as well as the initial bankruptcy auction last January 10, 2014.