AirLiance Materials Introduces Electronic Commerce System; Advanced Program Cuts Time and Cost in Aircraft Parts Acquisition.

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 3, 1999--

AirLiance Materials has introduced the first phase of an electronic commerce system designed to speed and simplify the acquisition and delivery of parts to airline, maintenance organization, aircraft operator and related customers.

The system is available on the World Wide Web at www.airliance.com.

The new system underlines the company's charter to reduce maintenance costs and streamline parts purchasing for its customers, according to Roscoe Musselwhite, AirLiance Materials' vice president of sales and marketing.

"More and more of our customers want to take advantage of new communication media. With this new system, we will leverage technology to cut delivery time dramatically. Plus, the system greatly simplifies the ordering process, reduces paperwork and provides up-to-date shipping information. Bottomline, our customers can easily order any part from anywhere, at any time, worldwide," he said.

The capabilities of the new e-commerce system allow AirLiance to offer rapid turnaround on AOG and routine parts orders, Musselwhite noted. More than 40,000 line items are listed in the e-commerce database, with more parts being added on a daily basis.

The site has been designed to make parts identification and purchasing a simple, secure procedure. Currently, purchase orders can be tracked by purchase order number and, within the month, by part number. Users can pre-designate where parts are to be delivered.

The system is based on PENTAGON 2000, an advanced software package capable of receiving and responding to SPEC2000 inquiries. PENTAGON 2000 was designed and developed by PENTAGON 2000 Software Inc., according to Marek Kiklas, director of information systems at AirLiance.

Utilizing an easy-to-use interface, the e-commerce system has real-time access to the parts database. "By basing our e-commerce system on the widely used PENTAGON 2000 software, we have taken another step to make AirLiance an easy company to do business with, while assuring that our customers can leverage the latest technology to save time and money," he said.

Currently, the airframes supported by AirLiance Materials include A340, A330, A321, A320, A319, A310 and A300 aircraft; B777, B757, B767, B757, B747, B737 and B727 aircraft, CRJ aircraft, MD11, MD80, DC10, DC9, DC8 aircraft. Engines supported include CF6-50, CF6-80, CFM-34, CFM-56, JT3, JT8, JT9, PW2000, PW4000 and V2500.

"Since AirLiance Materials was formed as a joint company by United Airlines, Air Canada and Lufthansa Technik, our customers can take advantage of economies of scale and operational experience simply not available from any other supplier," Musselwhite said.

"In fact, we offer access to the world's largest inventory of aircraft parts, so our new e-commerce system will have a tremendously positive impact on our operational efficiencies and those of our customers."

AirLiance Materials started operations in mid-1998, and has built its staff to nearly 100 people including experienced purchasing, sourcing, quality, customer sales support and information technology professionals. Currently, the company offers airlines, operators and support organizations a wide range of material sales, consignment sales, purchasing services, distribution services and repair management.

For more information, contact AirLiance Materials Inc., or Michael King, King Group Integrated Communications, telephone: [phone], fax: [phone], e-mail: [e-mail].