AirLiance Materials Appoints Jerry Simpson as Program Manager for Expendable Division.

Business Editors

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 17, 2001

AirLiance Materials, a jointly owned company formed by United Airlines, Air Canada, and Lufthansa Technik, has announced the appointment of Jerry Simpson as program manager of the Expendable Materials Group. Mr. Simpson will report directly to Jean Simmons, director of programs, and is responsible for procurement, inventory management and sales of expendable materials, as well as developing and implementing engine and airframe kitting programs.

Mr. Simpson has been in the aerospace industry for more than 15 years. He joins AirLiance from Pratt & Whitney, where he held various positions from parts administrator to operations manager. Most recently, as operations manager, he was responsible for managing the Regional Service Center and the Parts Distribution Center warehouses. His main duties were addressing FAA, customers, and technical issues, as well as managing key projects, including the AMR PW100 program, and exchange kit and service center HSI programs.

In addition, Mr. Simpson was also a member of the Eagle Leadership Development Program at Pratt & Whitney. While there, he was responsible for the logistics of inventory programs and assisting in key projects such as the Maintenance Service Guide, New Engine Support Inventory, and Installation Manual Programs for aircraft engines.

"Mr. Simpson brings extensive knowledge, expertise, and top management and communication skills to our team," said Ms. Simmons. "His dedication to excellence, value and service, combined with experience in managing people and product inventory will be significantly valuable to AirLiance."

Created for airlines, by airlines, AirLiance Materials is the exclusive supplier of high-quality, traceable, surplus parts from three operators to the global air transport industry. The company operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Headquartered in its 187,000 sq. ft. facility, AirLiance Materials is located at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. The company offers its products and services through an international network of offices around the world and their e-commerce site www.airliance.com.

AirLiance Materials offers a wide range of supply chain related aircraft products and services for its customer airlines and maintenance repair organizations. These products and services include material sales, sourcing, repair management services, parts exchanges, parts kitting, AOG and Just-In-Time services.

ISO 9002 certified, AirLiance Materials employs advanced systems and technology to reduce the costs and complexity of obtaining high-quality engine and airframe parts for its partners and non-partners. The company's partners, United Airlines, Air Canada, and Lufthansa Technik, combine to operate more than 1,000 aircraft and generate 17 percent of the world's available seat miles.

Note to Editors: Mr. Simpson earned his master's degree in management from the Keller Graduate School of Management and a bachelor's degree in aviation maintenance management from Southern Illinois University. In addition, Mr. Simpson served in the United States Air Force as engine technician and performed maintenance duties on Allison T-56 engines. He is married to wife Lisa and has two children, Rachel and Owen.

For more information, or if you would like to set up an interview, please contact Michael King, King Group IMC, phone: [phone]; fax: [phone], e-mail: [e-mail].