Air Canada

Air Canada is using one of its new Embraer 190 regional jets on new daily non-stop service between New York-JFK and Calgary. The new aircraft will "allow us to pursue new market opportunities in North America," said Marc Rosenberg, Air Canada's vice president of sales and product distribution. The Embraer jets are outfitted with Air Canada's new personal entertainment system that is being introduced fleet-wide. The 93-seat E190 aircraft is configured to provide a choice of two classes of service with nine window or aisle seats in Executive Class, and 84 window or aisle seats in Hospitality service. Air Canada has firm orders for 45 E190 aircraft with additional options for up to 60 additional E190 aircraft.

Bombardier Aerospace

National Air Support (NAS) of Adelaide, Australia, has placed a firm order for three Bombardier Q300 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) for the Surveillance Australia Coastwatch program. The list price value for the three aircraft on firm order is approximately US$53 million. Surveillance Australia began operating Bombardier Dash 8/Q200 aircraft in 1996 and currently operates five of the aircraft in aerial surveillance. NAS placed the Q300 aircraft order after winning a 12-year, AU$1 billion renewal of its contract with Australian Customs. In addition to the three new Q300 aircraft acquired from Bombardier, NAS will purchase and convert two Dash 8/Q Series aircraft from the existing fleet of sister company National Jet Systems to the surveillance role, doubling the size of the fleet. >>Contact: Bert Cruickshank, Bombardier, (416) 375-3030.<< Bombardier presented Singapore Airlines (SIA) with a commemorative Learjet 45 aircraft winglet in recognition of SIA's industry-leading operation of this super-light business jet, which entered service with the airline's specialized pilot training program in 1999. The brief ceremony occurred in late February at the SIA Training Center. SIA currently operates a fleet of four Bombardier Learjet 45 aircraft, which share common flight deck ergonomics and capabilities with SIA's commercial airliner fleet, allowing SIA to provide pilots with comprehensive training dedicated to takeoff and landing operations. >>Contact: Leo Knaapen, Bombardier, (514) 969-5181.<<

NetJets

NetJets, the worldwide leader in fractional aircraft ownership, has introduced two new guides, "Private Aviation 101" and "How to pay for Your NetJets Share," to form a complete series of guides covering the private aviation purchase cycle. The new guides supplement and enhance the newly revised "The Buyer's Guide to Fractional Aircraft Ownership" and "The Aircraft Selection Guide." NetJets will highlight the guides in a new advertising and direct mail campaign that will be appearing in publications and hitting mailboxes in the coming days. The guides are also available on http://www.netjets.com or by calling (877) 356-0028. >>Contact: Maryann Aarseth, NetJets, (732) 326-3735.<<

Gulfstream

Gulfstream Aerospace, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics [GD], announced a $300 million, seven-year expansion of its manufacturing and service facilities in Savannah, Ga. As a result of the expansion, which will increase the facility's size by 70 percent, employment at the facility is expected to grow by some 1,100 jobs, a 25 percent increase from the current employment level of 4,300. The work is expected to be completed by 2012. First opened in 1967, Gulfstream's Savannah headquarters site includes initial phase manufacturing for the Gulfstream G550, G500, G450 and G350. The site also includes one of the company's five final phase manufacturing facilities and the largest of Gulfstream's 10 service centers. >>Contact: Robert Baugniet, Gulfstream, (912) 965-7372.

Sino Swearingen Aircraft Corp.

The SJ30 business jet completed its final flight test in actual icing conditions on March 1 in Provo, Utah. This testing consisted of the FAA requirement to complete a 45- minute hold in actual maximum continuous icing conditions. The company received FAA Type Certification for the SJ30 on Oct. 27, 2005. The SJ30 is equipped with electrically heated windshields and uses engine bleed air heat to anti-ice the wings and engines. Pneumatic boots are used to de-ice the horizontal tail. The approval flight involved 50 minutes of maximum continuous icing conditions and more than another hour of intermittent icing conditions, which resulted in a build up of over 4 inches of ice on unprotected areas of the aircraft. >>Contact: Robert Kromer, Sino Swearingen Aircraft Corp. (210) 258-3900.<<