AeroVanti pilots sue for back pay, allege exec compared startup to Apple

A group of pilots has filed a federal class-action lawsuit alleging AeroVanti failed to pay them and other employees after being told in a June email from an executive at the beleaguered business that the money was coming and that the troubles the company faced were similar to those of Amazon, Apple, Tesla and Uber in their early days.

The lawsuit was filed Jan. 23 in Tampa by Tyson Roser, Rick Hendrick and Joshua Kraus. In the lawsuit, the three accuse the floundering Sarasota air service company of violating federal labor law and Florida common law. The pilots, who are seeking others to join the suit, are asking to be awarded “unpaid minimum and overtime wages owed, liquidated damages, and prejudgment interest on any unpaid overtime or minimum wages upon which liquidated damages were not assessed.”

They are also asking for attorney fees and costs. A total dollar amount the plaintiffs are seeking wasn't disclosed in court documents.