Italian Airline Launches Charter Division

Italian airline Blue Panorama has launched an executive charter division with a pair of Piaggio Avanti P.180 twin turboprops. Flown by the new Executive Blue subsidiary, the aircraft are based at Rome Ciampino Airport.

According to Blue Panorama president Franco Pecci, the new charter operations will be available to both corporate customers and leisure companies needing to move customers from major airports to smaller, exclusive resort locations that are not well served by airline traffic. He said that he chose the Avanti because of its “spacious cabin.”

If Executive Blue proves successful in Italy, the operation might expand to other parts of the world, such as the Caribbean, to which its parent company has scheduled flights. Blue Panorama was launched in 1998 and now operates a fleet of five Boeing 737-400s and three 767-300ERs. It is a customer for Boeing’s new 7E7, having committed to a $600 million deal for four of the long-haul transports. The company already does some corporate shuttle work as the official carrier for Italy’s Juventus professional soccer team.