How can you protect yourself or your employer from the fate of Avantair's program participants? Begin with due diligence. “The structure of Avantair was very unusual in terms of their customer contracts and their capacity to deal with the situation they ultimately wound up in,” said Mike Riegel, president of Aviation IQ, a California-based consultancy. “Their contracts do not guarantee liquidity. All the major providers do. So this is obviously something to look at when considering a provider, especially one that is also operating a charter card program.”
2002—Steven F. Santo, an attorney, pilot and former prosecutor, conceives Avantair, a fractional aircraft ownership program based solely on the Piaggio P180 Avanti turboprop. Service launches following year. 2005 – Having moved from New Jersey to Clearwater, Fla., Avantair operates 16 Avantis for 100 shareowners and announces plans to add another 20 aircraft within a year. The publicly traded firm adds charter card program. 2008 — Employs some 400 people; takes delivery of its 50th P180; announces 58 more Avanti IIs on order.
