Exhibit 99.1
[avantair graphic omitted]
For Immediate Release
October 17th, 2006
AVANTAIR PLACES ORDER FOR 20 PHENOM
100 JETS EMBRAER'S PHENOM 100 JET WILL ALLOW AVANTAIR TO EXPAND THEIR PRODUCT
OFFERING
ORLANDO, FLORIDA (OCTOBER 17, 2006) - Avantair, a leading provider of fractional
aircraft shares, announced today at the National Business Aviation Association
(NBAA) Annual Meeting and Convention that it has placed an order for 20 Phenom
100 executive jets from Embraer. Avantair's firm contract has an order value of
$57 million at list price in January 2005 economic conditions. The Phenom 100 is
expected to enter service in mid-2008 and Avantair is scheduled to take delivery
of its first aircraft in June 2009.
"The Phenom 100 is a perfect addition to our fleet," stated Matt Doyle,
Avantair Vice President of Sales. "It gives us an advantage in the marketplace
by allowing us to offer our existing and potential owners the best in the Very
Light Jets category in both fuel efficiency and cabin comfort."
The addition of Embraer's Phenom 100 to Avantair's current fleet will give them
the opportunity to offer a wider variety of aircraft and fractional share
programs options. Avantair also offers custom programs and travel solutions that
provide the highest quality of customer service.
"As one the largest fractional ownership companies in the world, Avantair has
placed tremendous faith and trust in Embraer's products," said Luis Carlos
Affonso, Embraer Executive Vice-President, Executive Jets. "We are immensely
grateful to Avantair and we are confident that the Phenom 100 will offer the
finest in performance, reliability, efficiency and premium comfort that has
become synonymous with the Avantair name."
Embraer's Phenom 100 is the most suitable choice for ownership management
programs and air taxi operations in that it is designed for high utilization and
high availability. It is designed for at least 35,000 cycles of operation.
Although business jets typically operate around 500 hours per year, the Phenom
jets' design philosophy of high availability and reliability is the same as that
of the ERJ 145 and EMBRAER 170/190 family of commercial jets that operate well
over 2,000 hours per year.
THE PHENOM 100 JET
The Phenom 100 is best-in-class. Premium comfort, outstanding performance and
low operating costs are key design drivers for this jet. The aircraft will offer
pilots and
passengers the comfort and style unseen in its category. The relaxing ambience
is enhanced by the size of the generous windows and the most ample cabin in its
class. Onboard conveniences include a wardrobe or refreshment center, an aft
cabin private lavatory with toiletry cabinet, and satellite communications.
The pilot-friendly cockpit and the docile flying qualities of the new aircraft
will enable single-pilot operation. Drawing from Embraer's design and
engineering heritage, the Phenom 100 will be built for high utilization and
availability. For added safety and reliability the jet will offer a standard
brake-by-wire system with anti-skid capability.
Based upon Garmin's all-glass, fully-integrated avionics suite, the Prodigy
flight deck offers Phenom Jet operators more advantages than any other avionics
suite on today's market. The pilot-friendly cockpit features three
interchangeable 12-inch displays - two primary flight displays (PFD) and one
multi-function display (MFD). The system integrates all primary flight,
navigation, communication, terrain, traffic, weather, engine instrumentation,
and crew-alerting system data and presents the composite information in
brilliant, sunlight-readable color on three high-definition displays.
The Phenom 100 is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada's PW617F engines with
1,615 pounds of thrust each. Its range with four occupants onboard will be 1,160
nautical miles (2,148 km or 1,335 miles) with NBAA IFR reserves, 35 minutes, and
100 nm alternate; or 1,320 nautical miles (2,445 km or 1,519 miles) with NBAA
VFR reserves, 45 minutes. The Phenom 100 is capable of flying at 41,000 feet
(12,497 m) with a maximum operating speed of Mach 0.70 and is designed for short
field takeoff performance. These characteristics will allow customers to fly
nonstop from New York to Miami; from Los Angeles to Vancouver or Denver at a
lower cost than competitive aircraft.
The Phenom 100 is priced at US$2.85 million in January 2005 economic conditions
for FAA certification and is expected to enter service in mid-2008.
On October 2, 2006, Avantair announced that it had signed a definitive agreement
to be acquired by publicly-traded Ardent Acquisition Corp. (OTCBB: AACQ, AACQU,
AACQW). Following consummation of the acquisition, Avantair's current management
team will remain in place, joined by Barry Gordon, the current Chief Executive
Officer of Ardent, who will become non-executive Chairman of the Board. In
addition, it is intended that, upon consummation of the acquisition, Ardent will
change its name to "Avantair" and will apply for a NASDAQ listing. The
transaction is expected to close in the first quarter 2007.
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,
www.avantair.com.
ABOUT ARDENT ACQUISITION CORP.
Ardent Acquisition Corp. was formed on September 14, 2004 to serve as a vehicle
to effect a business combination with an operating business. Ardent consummated
its initial public offering on March 2, 2005, generating gross proceeds of $41.4
million from the sale of 6.9 million units, including the full exercise of the
underwriters' over-allotment option. Each unit was comprised of one share of
Ardent common stock and two warrants, each with an exercise price of $5.00. As
of June 30, 2006, Ardent held approximately $37.9 million in a trust account
maintained by an independent trustee, which will be released to Ardent upon the
consummation of the business combination. EarlyBirdCapital, the managing
underwriter of Ardent's initial public offering, is advising Ardent on the
Avantair Acquisition.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release, and other statements that Ardent may make, including
statements about the benefits of the transaction with Avantair, contains
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act, with respect to Ardent's and Avantair's future financial
or business performance, strategies and expectations. Forward-looking statements
are typically identified by words or phrases such as "trend," "potential,"
"opportunity," "pipeline," "believe," "comfortable," "expect," "anticipate,"
"current," "intention," "estimate," "position," "assume," "outlook," "continue,"
"remain," "maintain," "sustain," "seek," "achieve," and similar expressions, or
future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," "may"
and similar expressions.
Ardent cautions that forward-looking statements are subject to numerous
assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. Forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Ardent assumes no duty
to and does not undertake to update forward-looking statements. Actual results
could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements and
future results could differ materially from historical performance.
In addition to factors previously disclosed in Ardent's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and those identified elsewhere in this
press release, the following factors, among others, could cause actual results
to differ materially from forward-looking statements or historical performance:
general economic and business conditions in the U.S. and abroad, changing
interpretations of generally accepted accounting principles, changes in market
acceptance of the company's products, inquiries and investigations and related
litigation, fluctuations in customer demand, management of rapid growth,
intensity of competition as well as other relevant risks detailed in Ardent's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on
Form 10-QSB for the period ended June 30, 2006. The information set forth herein
should be read in light of such risks. Neither Ardent nor Avantair assumes any
obligation to update the information contained in this press release.
Ardent's prospectus and subsequent filings with the SEC, accessible on the SEC's
website at http://www.sec.gov, discuss these factors in more detail and identify
additional factors that can affect forward-looking statements.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Ardent intends to file with the SEC a proxy statement on Schedule 14A in
connection with the proposed transaction. STOCKHOLDERS OF ARDENT AND OTHER
INTERESTED PERSONS ARE ADVISED TO READ, WHEN AVAILABLE, ARDENT'S DEFINITIVE
PROXY STATEMENT IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOLICITATION OF PROXIES FOR THE SPECIAL
MEETING BECAUSE THIS PROXY STATEMENT WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION.
The definitive proxy statement will be mailed to stockholders as of a record
date to be established for voting on the acquisition. Stockholders will also be
able to obtain a copy of the definitive proxy statement, without charge, once
available, at the SEC's Internet site http://www.sec.gov or by directing a
request to Ardent Acquisition Corp. at 1415 Kellum Place, Suite 205, Garden
City, NY 11530. As a result of the review by the SEC of the proxy statement,
Ardent may be required to make changes to its description of the acquired
business or other financial or statistical information contained in the proxy
statement.
Such persons can also read Ardent's final prospectus, dated February 24, 2005,
for a description of the security holdings of the Ardent officers and directors
and of EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. ("EBC"), the underwriters of Ardent's initial
public offering consummated on March 2, 2005, and their respective interests in
the successful consummation of this business combination.
For more information, contact:
Devlin Lander
Integrated Corporate Relations
415.292.6855
Or
Heather Dynes
973.809.6699
hdynes@avantair.com
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avantair.com