In a bid to boost sales of its P.180 Avanti, Piaggio Aero Industries has relaunched its pressurised twin turboprop in the USA.
Piaggio is believed to be on the brink of appointing a partner to provide worldwide marketing and product support for the aircraft.
The Avanti's reintroduction to the USA comes nearly a decade after its debut in the world's largest business aircraft market, which Piaggio believes will represent 80% of total sales. "It arrived in the US at the wrong time. The price of the aircraft was too high and the unconventional design was too similar to the [unsuccessful] Beech Starship," says Piaggio.
The Italian company, based in Genova Sestri, hopes to woo North American buyers by enhancing the appearance and competitiveness of the 13-year-old design. "Developmental work is now under way which includes a redesign of the vertical tail and foreplane, replacing the carbonfibre structure with aluminium alloy," Piaggio says.
The company is also planning to offer a family of P.180s, including basic and sporting models. Stretched and jet-powered versions are also under consideration.
The former Rinaldo Piaggio company, which emerged from bankruptcy last November following its acquisition by Turkish state holding company, Tushav, and a group of private Italian investors, has delivered 31 P.180s to date but only 10 in the last six years. They have mainly gone to Italian military and government agencies.
Source: Flight International