Italy-based Orion Fly is delivering an Avanti EVO to former L'Oréal chairman and CEO Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones who, for the last ten years, has owned its forerunner, the first Avanti II manufactured by Piaggio Aerospace. This is currently operated by Fly Wings and managed from an airworthiness standpoint by Alpiwings, two Lugano-based companies.

“I decided to go for a new P180 after my positive experience with the first aircraft,” he says. “I chose the new generation of the P180, the Avanti EVO, for its extended range capabilities, its environmental friendliness so appreciated by the local community, and its further improved ability to take off and land on short runways.”

Another Avanti EVO has just entered into service in India. It is the first of its type in the sub-continent, and has been delivered through Business Aircraft International (BAIPL), Piaggio Aerospace's partner in India, to an undisclosed customer who already owns and operates an Avanti II.

“We are proud of having been a partner of Piaggio Aerospace for so many years,” says BAIPL director Tapan Nandi. “We would like to thank our customer for their continued, positive feedback and confidence in the P180 aircraft, having selected the enhanced Avanti EVO for their operations. The entry into service in India of the latest version of the P180 will help us showcase the product, whose characteristics perfectly suit the Indian market.”

Piaggio Aerospace has now increased its footprint in the country, where the current fleet of P180 has amassed 10,000 flight hours. The combination of speed and fuel efficiency has always been the strength of Piaggio Aerospace's flagship, but customers in the region also appreciate its airfield performance, which gives access to the majority of airports, and its cruising altitude of up to 41,000 ft.

A second Avanti EVO will perform its ferry flight from Italy to the African continent, where the aircraft will be taken over again by an undisclosed customer. In the meantime, Piaggio Aerospace is actively working at developing a support organisation in the area.

“We are honoured that Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones has reconfirmed his trust in our company and his satisfaction with the aircraft's unique performance, and that a customer based in East Africa has chosen Piaggio Aerospace and the Avanti EVO for their operations,” says Vincenzo Nicastro, extraordinary receiver of Piaggio Aerospace. “This is, for us, the best award for our efforts to bring back the Avanti EVO, with its unmatched characteristics in terms of performance, efficiency, cabin comfort and versatility, to occupy the position in the market it deserves.”