Piaggio Ponders Partners for Jet Model

Piaggio Aero Industries, the Italian manufacturer known for its Avanti turboprops (in photo), appears to be getting ready to enter the business-jet market–but only if it can line up an existing bizjet manufacturer to share the risk. Dassault, Gulfstream and Cessna are reportedly among prospective partners under consideration to help develop a Piaggio jet, with Dassault the most likely choice, according to one source.