Embraer Places Two 145s
As part of a marketing effort to place used ERJ 145s, Embraer and Passaredo Linhas Aéreas signed a contract for the airline to added two leased Brasilias to its six-aircraft Brasilia fleet. Delivery of the first aircraft, scheduled for use in strengthening the airline’s presence in Brazilian regional markets, is set for the first half of 2009. The range of the aircraft afford non-stop service from from São Paulo to Brasília, Porto Alegre, Recife, or Salvador

Horizon Seeks Q400 Delays
Citing the slow pace of placing its CRJ 700s, Horizon Air is working with Bombardier to delay delivery of eight Q400s. The deliveries are part of 15-aircraft, $393 million order which includes 20 options. It has sold two of its 20 CRJ 700s so far.

Ethiopian Takes Q400s
Ethiopian Airlines purchased eight Bombardier Q400s, in addition to four options, bringing the Dash 8/Q-Series order book to 1,001 aircraft.
Based on the list price of the Q400 NextGen airliner, the value of the Ethiopian Airlines firm order contract is approximately $242 million US, and could increase to approximately $366 million US if the four options are exercised. The transaction increases Q400/Q400 NextGen aircraft firm orders to 330 aircraft, with 210 delivered as of July 31, 2008.
Ethiopian Airlines, the country's flag carrier, made its first flight between Addis Ababa and Cairo via Asmara on April 8, 1946. It currently operates a fleet of jet and turboprop aircraft to 33 African cities and a total of 20 international points in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and North America.
Ethiopian Airlines won the Brussels Airport Marketing Award for long-haul operations in October, 2008. In the same month the airline also won the 2008 Best Airline in Africa Award from the Akwaaba Travel Market Organization and the 2008 Corporate Achievement Award in Johannesburg in August, 2008.

Copa Takes 15th 190
Panama-based Copa Airlines, a subsidiary of Copa Holdings, S.A. took delivery of its 15th Embraer 190 aircraft. The acquisition of the Brazilian-made Embraer brings Copa's fleet total to 42 aircraft, and maintains its position among the youngest fleets in the region, with an average age of 4.2 years. In addition to its 15 Embraer jets, Copa operates 27 Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft.
The Embraer 190 has seating capacity for 94 passengers, 10 in Business Class and 84 in the main cabin. The main cabin is configured with two seats on each side of the aisle without a middle seat.

ATRs to Lion, TAT
Indonesia’s Lion Air inked an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with ATR for 10 firm ATR 72-500 and options for 10 additional aircraft. The deal, announced on the occasion of the Indodefence Air show in Jakarta, is valued at more than $380 million, including options, was signed n the presence of His Excellency Bapak Yusuf Kalla, Vice-president of the Republic of Indonesia, and Juwono Sudarsono, Minister of Defense. These aircraft will be the first new ATR 72-500s to fly the Indonesia’s skies.
The 72-seat aircraft will be operated by Lion Air’s subsidiary Wings Air, and will supportthe airline’s 737-900 operations. They are equipped with the “Elegance” cabin, higher-power-rated PW 127M engines and the latest technological innovations in navigation aid and communications tools. Aircraft deliveries will start in 2009.
“With our brand new fleet of ATR 72-500s, we will be able to develop a strong low-cost network, feeding LION AIR’s major hubs,” Lion Air CEO Rusdi Kirana, citing ATR’s support network in Singapore and a strong ATR presence in the South East Asia.”
Including the 10 firm orders of today’s MoU, ATR has sold, since the beginning of the program, 968 aircraft (419 ATR 42s and 549 ATR 72s), and has delivered 799 (401 ATR 42s and 398 ATR 72s), thus posting a current backlog of 169 aircraft.
Launched was launched in 2000 with a single aircraft, and, has since emerged as a leading airline. It now operates 37 aircraft flying to not only all of Indonesia’s major cities, but to Singapore, Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh. Since 2005, Lion Air has maintained the largest market share in Indonesia, and plans to expand in position both in the domestic market and throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

TAT
AIR Ltd, the leasing subsidiary of TAT Group, took delivery of an ATR 72-500 aircraft which marks the 40th ATR aircraft delivered to the company TAT Group. The aircraft will be leased to Bangkok Airways. Coincidentally, both TAT Group and Bangkok Airways are each celebrating their 40th anniversary this year. The delivery ceremony was held at the final assembly line of ATR in Toulouse.
With the delivery of this 70-seat ATR, Bangkok Airways brings its ATR 72-500 fleet to 9 aircraft, with an additional aircraft to be delivered next year. The carrier started operating ATR aircraft in 1994 and has become one of the largest operators of ATRs in South East Asia. With the delivery of this new aircraft, the airline will grow the total capacity of its ATR fleet and will be able to face its increasing flight demand, notably to and within the region.
Today’s delivered aircraft is also the 800th ATR delivered since the beginning of the programme (401 ATR 42s and 399 ATR 72s). Up to date, ATR has sold 968 aircraft (419 ATR 42s and 549 ATR 72s) and posts a current backlog of 168 aircraft.
Bangkok Airways, dubbed as “Asia’s Boutique Airline” served Thailand and the region for exactly four decades this year. From a humble start as a charter service under the name of Sahakol Air back in 1968, the award-winning airline now boasts its portfolio with the most charming destinations in the region. Facing the rapid growth of tourism and business investments in Thailand, Bangkok Airways presently flies to over 20 regional routes, covering nearly all beaches and World Heritage destinations in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Maldives, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, and Japan.

146s to Africa
Three BAe 146-200 regional jetliners are destined for operation with Air Congo Limited of Brazzaville, Republic of Congo as part of a deal announced at the Air Finance for Africa Conference in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. The three aircraft (msns 2090, 2092 and 2096) will join five other BAe 146-200s that have also been acquired by Air Congo. Operations have recently started from Pointe Noire, complemented by turboprop aircraft on scheduled regional services.

This latest deal into the African regional jet market underscores the growing popularity of the BAe 146/Avro RJ family which in the past 12 months has seen the number of aircraft acquired/delivered to African operators treble from six to 18.

Including Air Congo, current operators are SA Airlink which has four BAe 146-200s and three Avro RJ85s operating on an intensive domestic and regional international schedule in South Africa, Air Botswana which has two BAe 146-100s and Safair which has one RJ85.

In addition, a further seven BAe 146-200/300s are reported to have been acquired for African operations with new customers in different parts of the Continent likely to take delivery of some of these aircraft in the near future.

BAE Systems turboprop aircraft are also well represented on the Continent with nearly 25 Jetstream family aircraft in service with eight operators, the biggest being SA Airlink with 14 Jetstream 41s.

By early 2009, BAE Systems expects to see nearly 50 aircraft in service in Africa with twelve different operators.

Speaking at the Conference Stuart Begg, Director Technical Sales for BAE Systems Asset Management pointed out that African airlines are not immune to the serious financial and trading environment in the global air transport industry with passenger traffic down eight percent in September and net losses for African airlines predicted by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to total $1 billion in 2008 and 2009.

“The global credit crunch is making finance for new aircraft deliveries harder to access and more expensive and African airlines have a challenge to find $8 billion over the next three years to finance some 220 new aircraft that represents the backlog that is on order,” he said. “However, the recent dramatic expansion of the BAE Systems regional jet fleet into Africa shows that African airlines are exploiting the availability of quality pre-owned aircraft to meet their current and future needs. Used aircraft can enjoy an economic advantage over new aircraft by virtue of their lower capital cost and this is particularly true in markets with lower than average utilisations as is often found in Africa.”