Company Watch - Embraer.

Jan 22, 2007

Bmi regional is taking delivery of a further four Embraer E-145s in the coming months, raising its fleet to 20 aircraft. The additional capacity will support three new routes: Edinburgh-Zurich, Aberdeen-Kristiansand and Leeds Bradford-Copenhagen. The bmi subsidiary also will increase frequencies on existing services for the summer schedule, including additional flights from EDI to MAN and LBA. Jan 11, 2007

Embraer said yesterday that it delivered 25 commercial aircraft in the fourth quarter, bringing its total to 98 for full-year 2006 led by 40 E-190s. The Brazilian manufacturer took 67 firm orders for its commercial segment during the quarter, increasing its firm order backlog 11.3% over the previous quarter to $14.8 billion. It also raised its delivery guidance to 165-170 in 2007 including executive and defense/government aircraft. Its total deliveries for 2006 were 130. It did not break down projected 2007 deliveries by segment. Jan 17, 2007

Frontier Airlines chose Republic Airlines to operate 17 76-seat Embraer E-170s starting in March. Scheduling and marketing of the new service will be done by Frontier, which will pay for capacity at a pre-determined rate. The last of the aircraft will be flying by December 2008. Last September, Frontier ended its codeshare agreement with Horizon Air, which operated nine CRJ700s for the Denver-based carrier. "While we enjoyed a great relationship with. . .Horizon, we are thrilled that our new partners at Republic can offer us the same level of service as well as the additional capacity we need to make our growth plans a reality," Frontier President and CEO Jeff Potter said. The company also plans to launch a wholly owned regional with 10 Q400 turboprops by mid-year. Jan 12, 2007

Kenya Airways will lease three Embraer E-170s from GECAS for delivery in mid-2007. Jan 17, 2007

Mexicana de Aviacion, Mexico's number 2 airline, plans to invest up to USD$2 billion over three years to increase its fleet, a spokesman said on Thursday. The plan to add more planes is conditioned on the results of a campaign by Mexicana, with 28 percent market share in Mexico, to cut one-quarter of its costs, airline spokesman Adolfo Crespo said. On Thursday, Mexicana signed a deal with ground workers that should save USD$20 million a year. In November, the airline said it reached an agreement with pilots that would save USD$50 million annually. Jan 19, 2007

Paramount Airways of India took delivery of its fifth Embraer RJ, an E-170, and will use it to launch services to Trivandrum, Tirupathi and Vizag. Jan 19, 2007

Saudi Arabian Airlines is negotiating with both Boeing and Airbus to buy up to 60 aircraft worth up to $12 billion, London's The Business reported. The purchase should bolster its current fleet of 139 planes. Local sources said Saudi Arabian, which is government-owned, is expanding rapidly and needs a variety of new aircraft. Press reports indicate the order will be split between the two manufacturers but delivery will not happen in time for the carrier's proposed flotation in 2008. Its last major aircraft buy was in 1995 when it ordered 61 Boeing aircraft. It also purchased 15 Embraer E-170s in 2005. Jan 8, 2007

VEM offers airframe maintenance for all Boeing and former McDonnell Douglas aircraft as well as the Embraer 120, ERJ-145 and F50. It is in the final phase of achieving certification to perform heavy maintenance on the A300/A310 family while A320 approvals are expected in the second half of 2007. It already is providing line maintenance to TAP supporting A310 flights into Brazil. It also operates the only 767 passenger-to-freighter line in South America and is considering entering into the 757 conversion business as well, Almeida said, although he noted that conversions are a supplemental activity, not a core function. In addition to airframe MRO, VEM is active in component support and aims to grow this business. Jan 17, 2007 01/22/2007

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Jan 8, 2007