Young Italian carrier Blue Panorama (BPA) is dipping its toe into Europe’s business aviation market.

The airline, which carried over half a million passengers in 2003, launched its Executive Blue service with two brand new Piaggio Avanti P180s at the end of May.

“We are the only major Italian airline to move into business aviation,” said Blue Panorama President Franco Pecci. “We wanted to create a special executive division, an innovation that will complete the wide range of services we already offer our clients.”

Pecci said Executive Blue is primarily aimed at business travellers in central and southern Italy, who

he feels have been somewhat neglected up to now.

“We intend to market the service to major industrial groups, top managers and professionals who

buy packages of air hours,” he said. “But we’re also looking at private individuals, large hotel

chains and even other airlines. Demand is high for services that connect with international scheduled flights, enabling executives to get to their final destinations as quickly as possible.”

The P180s are based at Rome’s Ciampino airport. But Pecci did not rule out the possibility of moving them to other bases in Italy if that’s what the market desires. He might even consider locating one in foreign parts during certain periods of the year, to meet the requirements of Italian travellers in areas like the Caribbean, where Blue Panorama is highly active.

Nevertheless, the airline expects most of Executive Blue’s traffic to be concentrated in Italy and the Mediterranean basin. He stressed though, that as the P180 is totally autonomous for 3,241 km, his

clients have the option to go further – an important factor when he chose the aircraft.

Pecci was also impressed by the P180’s blend of comfort, performance, safety and economy. In fact, he said he could not find fault with the aircraft. “It’s fast, even though it’s a turboprop, it’s manoeuvrable, easy to maintain and has a nice comfortable cabin. We’re sure this aircraft’s potential will show we’ve made the right choice.”

Despite the optimism, Pecci preferred not to make any predictions about how much charter custom the P180s will have. “It’s something of a test season, above all from a marketing point of view,” he said. “We’ll have a better idea at the end of the summer.”

The P180s have joined the carrier’s fleet of five Boeing 737s and three 767s, which are used for short, medium and long-haul services, both charter and scheduled.

According to Pecci, the tough nature of today’s air-transport market means major airlines must be more flexible, innovative and focused on their client’s needs than ever before. He said BPA intends to survive in such a “delicate climate” by continuously offering new, quality services, like Executive Blue.

“We’re aiming to stay competitive with increasingly dynamic strategies. Executive Blue shows we intend to differentiate ourselves and become a model for others. We’re the only airline here to have taken this road. We’re also going to keep moving ahead with our long-haul scheduled flights, without forgetting the charter market, which is enormously important for us.”

Pecci founded Blue Panorama in 1998 with a single Boeing 737, running short and medium-haul charter services. Since then the carrier has grown. Its main charter destinations are spread around western Europe, the rest of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

BPA is also the official carrier of Juventus soccer club. And Pecci says there is a good chance the likes of Italian striker Alessandro Del Piero and European Footballer of the Year Pavel Nedved will be among Executive Blue’s future clients.