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.

You could almost hear a collective gulp within the business aviation community last August when a U.S. Bankruptcy Court ordered Chapter 7 liquidation of Avantair, the Clearwater, Fla.-based fractional aircraft ownership program.

“A lot of the places you go, you might have to talk people through the process, but these guys knew what they were doing, very competent and impressive.” This was the appraisal of a long-range business jet captain employed by a major U.S. technology company about the quality of ground support he'd received at Gimpo International Airport during a recent trip to the Republic of South Korea.