Piaggio Aerospace celebrated at the show this morning the sale of eight Avanti Evos to UK business aviation services provider Zenith Aviation.
The one firm order and seven options marks the first time twin-engined turboprop has been selected by a charter operator in the UK. It comes a day after Malaysian charter company Rozmay Air signed a deal for a single Evo.
The first of the seven-seat twin pushers are scheduled for delivery in October, joining Zenith’s two Bombardier Learjet 45 business jets in service.
The London Biggin Hill-based company will also add a superlight Cessna Citation XLS and large cabin Bombardier Challenger 604 to its fleet before the end of August.
“The Evo is creating its own unique space in the charter market,” says Zenith managing director Stuart Mulholland. “Not only can it compete in terms of cabin size with many class-leading midsize jets, it will also out-perform many of the light jets and certainly turboprops in terms of its useable range and speed,” he adds.
The $7.4 million Evo is the third iteration of Piaggio’s P180 twin-pusher. It was launched in May 2014 as an upgrade of the 10-year-old Avanti II, featuring a revamped and quieter interior, enhanced safety features and increased performance – thanks to new winglets, redesigned engine nacelles, a reshaped front wing and five-bladed composite scimitar propellers.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
