Supply Side

Embraer Embraer [ERJ] is making structural reinforcements to its Embraer 190 and 195 models so that they can fly 300 miles farther. Dubbed the Embraer 190AR, the 100-seat plane can now fly 2,300 nautical miles. The Embraer 195AR, which can carry 110 passengers, will be able to fly 2,100 nautical miles...

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Embraer

Embraer [ERJ] is making structural reinforcements to its Embraer 190 and 195 models so that they can fly 300 miles farther. Dubbed the Embraer 190AR, the 100-seat plane can now fly 2,300 nautical miles. The Embraer 195AR, which can carry 110 passengers, will be able to fly 2,100 nautical miles. JetBlue [JBLU], the launch customer for the 190s, has converted its 100 firm orders and 100 options to the new AR model. JetBlue made the switch to give it greater flexibility in establishing city-pairs for its new routes. The Embraer 190 is expected to be certified in the third quarter and the Embraer 195 is expected to be certified in the second quarter of 2006. In order handle its growing customer base flying the 170/190 family, Embraer will build a new 70,000-square-foot maintenance facility at Nashville International Airport, which will be large enough to handle three Embraer 195s. Another 140 to 160 new employees will be added to the current 200 now working at its 125,000-square-foot Nashville facility.

Bombardier

Flybe, a low-cost carrier in the United Kingdom, ordered 20 more Bombardier [BBD] Q400 turboprops in a deal worth $400 million. Flybe is converting 20 options it took in 2003 into firm orders. In 2003, Flybe purchased 17 Q400s, which are configured for 70 passengers.

Big Sky

Big Sky Airlines, a turboprop subsidiary of MAIR Holdings [MAIR], will upgrade its fleet with 10 Beechcraft 1900Ds that it will lease from Mesa Air Group [MESA]. The first plane will be delivered in March and deliveries are expected to be completed by next February. The 10 planes are part of a fleet of 31 1900Ds operated by Air Midwest, a Mesa unit. The remaining 1900Ds will continue to be flown on Essential Air Service (EAS) routes that Air Midwest is contracted to fly. The Billings-based Big Sky will retire its fleet of nine Fairchild Metros and six Fairchild Metro 23s as the 1900Ds arrive. One of the new 1900Ds will be used to establish new service from Sheridan, Wyo., to both Billings and Denver. Big Sky was recently awarded the route with an EAS subsidy.

SkyQuest

SkyQuest International is marketing two Embraer 120ER Brasilia aircraft, with Pratt & Whitney 118B engines, for SkyWest [SKYW].

General Electric

GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) earned $167 million in the fourth quarter contributing to General Electric's [GE] fourth quarter profit of $5.4 billion. Also contributing to the bottom line was the transportation unit which sold $600 million in new aircraft engines to customers that included Embraer and Bombardier. It also signed new engine servicing contracts worth $3.6 billion during that period.

Rockwell Collins

With the sales of avionics growing by 10 percent, the commercial services unit of Rockwell Collins [COL] increased its sales by 18 percent to $373 million in the last three months of 2004. The unit contributed earnings of $72 million to Rockwell Collins quarterly profit of $90 million.

FlightSafety

American Eagle is the latest airline to strike a deal with FlightSafety Academy in Vero Beach, Fla. Graduates of the Direct Track Program will be trained to meet American Eagle's specific hiring requirements for new pilots. The students will receive training on a ERJ 145 simulator and the students will accumulate at least 400 hours of total flight time.

European Aeronautical

The German and Austrian Civil Aviation Authorities earlier this month approved the electronic charts product marketed by European Aeronautical Group. The flight deck version of Route Manual was approved for use without a paper backup. Two carriers, Fly Niki and Aero Flight, tested the new program for the regulators.

Reveal Imaging Technologies

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently certified Reveal Imaging Technologies's new airport explosives detection system, CT-80. The system, developed as part of the TSA's next-generation development program, is about half-the-size of the existing baggage screeners, which enables it to be integrated into an airline's existing check-in desk.