Piaggio has signed a contract with Avantair to deliver a total of 28 Avanti P180s to the fractional provider. The companies say the contract, signed in Rome, is the largest single order ever for both of them.

Under the contract, Piaggio is scheduled to deliver one Avanti in 2005, 11 in 2006 and 12 in 2007.

Avantair has also exercised its option on five additional aircraft from a previous agreement, bringing the total number of deliveries to 29.

This is the third major transaction between the two companies in the past 18 months and Avantair currently has 10 Avantis in its fleet.

The signing ceremony was held at Italy’s Ministry of Industry and was attended by members of the Italian government, headed by minister of industry Antonio Marzano, under secretary of production Mario Valducci and officials from Piaggio and Avantair.