P.180 Fractional Will Concentrate On Growing Brand
Robert D. Taylor, chairman and chief executive officer of
Executive AirShare, announced this week the regional fractional
aircraft ownership company is combining its positions with 18
Embraer Phenom 100 aircraft from Clearwater, FL-based Avantair, a
company best-known for offering fractional shares in the Piaggio
Avanti P.180 aircraft.
Executive AirShare now holds firm orders for 28 Embraer Phenom
100 aircraft, with deliveries scheduled to begin in Summer 2009,
with options on 12 additional Phenom 100 aircraft. The company also
holds four firm orders and four options for Phenom 300 light jet
aircraft, making Executive AirShare the only established fractional
aircraft ownership company to offer Phenom 100 and Phenom 300
aircraft.
As ANN reported, Avantair announced in October
2006 it would order 20 Phenom 100s, in order to expand its product
offerings beyond the high-speed Piaggio turboprop. The company
currently operates close to 100 P.180s, which operate throughout
the country.
"This agreement offers both Executive AirShare and Avantair the
opportunity to enhance our fractional ownership programs," said
Taylor. "While Avantair focuses on growing their national program,
Executive AirShare gains access to more Phenom 100 aircraft,
enabling us to expand our regional fractional program into new
markets well into the future."
Executive AirShare currently operates a fleet of 15 aircraft in
five cities in the Central United States, with the aircraft based
in the same cities as their owners. Unlike national ownership plans
that fly multiple clients to different locations on the same day on
the same aircraft, by scheduling an aircraft to only one owner per
day, Executive AirShare is able to adapt to changes in owners'
intraday schedules, offering complete flexibility and convenience,
and most closely replicating the benefits of full ownership.
"The major advantages of our regional fractional ownership model
are that owners fly in their aircraft the majority of the time and
they know the pilots that fly their airplane," said Executive
AirShare President and Chief Operating Officer Keith D. Plumb. "We
have become the flight department for each of our clients, and
offer service and safety standards that are comparable to those of
any Fortune 500 company."
The Phenom 100 is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada
PW617F engines with 1,615 pounds of thrust each, and will
accommodate four passengers in the club seat configuration.
"We are very excited to add more Phenom 100 aircraft to our
program," adds Plumb. "Its range, speed, comfort and
luggage-carrying capabilities will appeal to our owners and enable
us to attract many more customers by offering the most capable very
light jet fleet in the industry."