Piaggio Aero is to target its P180 Avanti at the fractional ownership market, after talks with the major players proved encouraging. “As of today we still don’t have an agreement with any of the main companies, but there seems to be a lot of interest for the aircraft,” said Massimo Isidori, vice president of sales for Europe and the Middle East.

EBAN’s Gary Butcher asked Isidori what he felt the P180 had to offer the fractional market: “It is an aircraft which is absolutely comparable to the Citation, Beech 400 or Learjet but with much lower operating costs. The cabin is much bigger than the Citation or Lear and it is only marginally slower. On an average stage length of 300 nautical miles we lose two minutes compared to a Citation, but fuel consumption is 30 per cent less.”

The current list price for the aircraft is $4.9 million (fully equipped) which Isidori believes will help the aircraft find its own niche in the fractional market: “The aircraft is cheaper than its competitors and I’m sure that the fractional ownership companies will offer it at a lower price than a Citation or a Learjet. Yet the cabin is comparable with that of a Falcon or Citation Excel.”

The North American market continues to be Piaggio’s main target, which Isidori feels should be able to take between 65 and 70 per cent of the total of P180s produced. “Sales have been going well over the last year, despite the unfortunate situation. Regarding the fractional market, for the time being we would be pursuing opportunities in the US but we are open to discussion with European operators.\r

“Of course the approach is different, because in Europe packages of hours are sold rather than shares in the aircraft.”

When asked whether he felt fractional ownership would come to dominate the sector, Isidori responded: “I think Europe will follow what is beginning to happen in the States but at a slower pace, because it’s a different mentality and market. So I don’t believe this will replace the corporate aircraft market as we know it, because the Europeans are more oriented towards the ownership of their own aircraft.”