Avantair Pilot Hiring Increases Due To Fractional Demand

Orlando, Florida (October 16th, 2006) - Avantair, the exclusive provider of fractional aircraft shares in the Avanti P.180 aircraft, announced today at the NBAA Annual Meeting and Convention that they plan on hiring an additional 80 to 100 pilots to fly the Avanti P.180 in 2007. The pilot hiring is necessary for the continued growth of the Avantair program. “It is our priority to recruit and retain the best pilots in order to provide the optimum levels of safety and service to our fractional owners.” said Steven Santo, CEO of Avantair.

Avantair has hired 52 pilots year to date in 2006. To keep pace with the current P.180 delivery schedule, Avantair plans to hire an additional 27 pilots before the end of the year. Avantair pilots will be trained on the new P.180 full flight simulator. FlightSafety International, the worlds premier aviation training organization, announced today that its new Piaggio P.180
Avanti full flight simulator has received Level D qualification from the United States Federal Aviation Administration. The advanced technology simulator will be used to provide professional training to Avantair pilots at the companys West Palm Beach, Florida Learning Center. Over 75,000 pilots, technicians and other aviation professionals train at FlightSafety facilities
each year. The company designs and manufactures full flight simulators for civil and military aircraft programs and operates the worlds largest fleet of advanced full flight simulators at 40 training locations.

About Avantair

Headquartered in Clearwater, FL, Avantair Inc. is the exclusive North American provider of fractional aircraft shares in the Piaggio Avanti P.180 aircraft. Avantair is the fifth largest company in the North American fractional aircraft industry and the only standalone fractional operator. The company currently manages a fleet of 25 planes with another 58 on order. With
operations in 5 states and approximately 250 employees, Avantair offers private travel solutions for individuals and companies at a fraction of the cost of whole aircraft ownership. More information about Avantair is available on its website, avantair.com.

For more information, contact:
Heather Dynes
973.809.6699
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avantair.com

Devlin Lander
Integrated Corporate Relations
415.292.6855