Story ID: 
Swiss Fleet Customer Suing Eclipse Aviation
By: Gordon Gilbert
Caption: Eclipse and its Swiss customer Aviace have entered litigation over the delivery of 112 VLJs.
Word Count: 157
Eclipse and its Swiss customer Aviace have entered litigation over the delivery of 112 VLJs. Aviace sued the manufacturer early this month for breach of contract for allegedly refusing to deliver the aircraft ordered in 2002. The Swiss company was one of the earliest large customers for the Eclipse 500 very light jet and was established to launch a low-cost air taxi business. Both parties declined to comment while in litigation. Aviace announced earlier that it had set up 45 “Jet Clubs” and fractional ownership units to operate Eclipse 500s, but delayed delivery of the VLJs forced it to shelve those plans. Last year, Peter Pfister, then chairman of the Swiss company, declared he would keep open the option of reselling at a substantial profit aircraft acquired at a price of just over $1 million. Such a move would make Aviace a direct competitor of the Eclipse factory sales team. Current price of an Eclipse 500 to be delivered in October 2008 is $1.52 million.