What is going on at Avantair?

[C425Driver]

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0787664/M/

Here is a better pic. That is one of the older prototypes dont know what type of anti-ice it had. Take a good look at the gear doors on the nose also, those have since been changed, they close after gear extension now. I heard the oldest one is due to be retired soon from flight testing. There is another prototype (#2 I think) that has the same wierd windscreen but has been upgraded to the Proline 21 avionics suite for testing and certification. It was recently retrofited with the new -66Bs for testing. I think they only made 2 with the 4 piece windscreen, both being prototypes.

Nice Pic! It looks like the landing light may be on the nose gear strut (or maybe just something shining behind the gear). There's also an air scoop below the engine nacelle that's not on the production models. Cool plane - I really enjoy flying it.

 

[johnsonrod]

Avanti IIs

I know that this has been discussed before, but how long before we see an Avanti II on the line with Avantair? It's still unclear in terms of timing. Have you guys trained some pilots on the new aircraft? Have shares been sold in the new aircraft? How many should be expected on the line by year end?

 

[whiskytangofoxt]

Yes one and two have the strange windscreen cira-88
II's on line maybe Saturday, rumor has it 5 on line by November, PT66B's 1/07

 

[C425Driver]

WTF,

How many II's are on property now? I heard we picked up the second II last week. Any truth to that?

C425Driver

 

[Noodles]

Shares have already been sold out for awhile on at least 3 of the II's.

 

[C425Driver]

I just read the latest company email. We have taken delivery of three Avanti II's with more to come! Good news for us!

C425Driver

 

[myrealnameis]

I know that this has been discussed before, but how long before we see an Avanti II on the line with Avantair? It's still unclear in terms of timing. Have you guys trained some pilots on the new aircraft? Have shares been sold in the new aircraft? How many should be expected on the line by year end?

I believe we have owership of 3 right at this moment, 1 is being used for training and the other 2 I think need to get a conformity with the feds. Piaggio has another 2 I believe to be delivered any day now. You can keep tabs on the AII's on flightaware.com a/c are: 140sl 143sl 108sl 150sl and 156sl are in the country now. You can check registrations on the faa website 157sl - 159sl are in the pipeline. With the merger near complete I bet we will start getting new airplanes at a rapid rate.

 

[citationsarejun]

Posted by njw
This sounds quite familiar. The company is bringing in money but chooses to invest in its infrastructure rather than its pilots. njw



I am laughing so hard i don't even know where to begin. What business training do you have? Just because we are pilots doesn't mean we are brainless. It is this kind of statement that makes me question my profession. A good solid infrastructure is the key to any successful business and often costs the most to build. Without it we would be jobless. Most of us are smarter than you think.

 

[citationsarejun]

by the way congratulations Avantair pilots sounds like good news. Cool airplane and have always liked the company and concept

 

[netjetwife]

Based on common sense and human nature, I'm suggesting that a balanced approach is wiser in the long run. In your profession, training is very expensive so a high turn over rate due to pilot dissatisfaction and low morale is a high cost that could be avoided. It's common knowledge that employees that feel respected and valued are more productive and loyal. It is also inherently unfair to balance the budget and/or grow the company at the expense of one group of employees. Evidence of that happening is seen in the fact that Avantair pilots are receiving sub-par wages (less than industry standard) for their skills and contribution to the company. That situation, left unchecked, will breed resentment which in turns leads to lowered productivity and increased attrition. That is counter-productive and does no one any good. Sometimes managers need to be forced to make sound decisions for the future. Anyone can get caught up in the plan of the moment and become oblivious to the consequences--that is simply human nature. Until the grumbling gets too loud they'll continue to ignore it, right or wrong.

But don't take my word for it....just look at NJA. They finally settled with the pilots and profits are up, pilots are pleased, and the union and the company are working on joint projects that are estimated to save millions. It's like a 3-legged race; the team that works together the best comes out ahead. None of us needs a business degree to understand that. NJW