Topics: Colgan, American Eagle, ExpressJet, Bombardier, Embraer, PT Linus Airways, ATR, Batavia

Pilots Rejects ALPA at Colgan
Colgan’s pilots rejected the attempt by Air Line Pilots Association to unionize. The subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines (PNCL), Colgan learned of the vote when results of a representation vote were tallied by the National Mediation Board.

American Eagle Provides New Service From Miami-Savannah & Sarasota
American Eagle begins nonstop service between Miami International Airport (MIA) and Savannah and Sarasota beginning in December 13. The new services will be flown with 64-seat ATR 72s.
The Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport service will include a single daily round trip. American Eagle currently serves Savannah with two daily round trips to Dallas/Forth Worth. The two daily MIA-Sarasota/Bradenton roundtrips, restores service suspended in 2001 and are timed to connect to Central and South American flights as well as those to the Bahamas and Caribbean.

ExpressJet Adds One-Stops, Attacks Horizon’s Territory
In the wake of a second quarter loss, ExpressJet (XJT) is expanding its schedule adding three new points to the branded service launched in April including new non-stops from Spokane, Bakersfield and Tucson beginning September 9. In a direct attack on Horizon’s new Washington State-California service, XJT is going head to head on the Sacramento-Spokane route. XJT adds Bakersfield-Sacramento to its system with that flight continuing on to Spokane. Its Tucson service will originate in El Paso and continue on to Ontario affording non-stops in both directions. XJT is continuing its El Paso-Ontario nonstop service.

New Bombardier Depot in Brazil
Aviation Maintenance, RAN’s sister publication, reports Bombardier (BBD) has opened a new spare parts facility near Sao Paulo’s Congonhas and Guarhulos airports. The facility will be operated by Armazéns Gerais Columbia S.A. The 3,000-square-foot depot will house approximately 2,300 high-demand parts (more than 75,000 pieces) with a value of $7 million. The facility is the fourth new parts facility to be opened by the company in the past two years and will support Bombardier’s commitment to improve counter-to-counter AOG parts delivery worldwide. As of March 31st, Bombardier had an installed base in Latin America (including Central America and Mexico) of 320 business aircraft, representing 26 percent of the total market share.

Embraer, BRA Ink Deal for More Aircraft
With the signing of its contract for 20 Embraer (ERJ) ERJ 195s, Brazilian airline BRA Transportes Aéreos ordered 20 195s, optioning an additional 20 aircraft, amending the preliminary deal signed at Paris. BRA also has 20 rolling options, which, if confirmed, provide purchase rights for another 15 aircraft which could bring the total order to 75 jets. The value of the firm order, at list price, is $730 million and could top $ 2.7 billion, if all of the other 55 jets are confirmed.
BRA had already signed a leasing contract with GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) to operate another two new ERJ 195 jets, with the delivery schedule expected to begin during the first semester of 2008.
Since 1997, Brazilian carriers have reduced service to a number of Brazilian cities served by about 30 percent, focusing only on routes with the greatest demand. With the ERJ 195s – configured to 118 single-class seats – BRA not only hopes to address this but eliminate multi-stop service that has developed in the wake of route consolidation, providing non-stop flights to cities now only served with multi-stop service.
BRA was founded in August 1999, specializing in national and international charter and private flights. It became a scheduled carrier in November 2005, flying to 33 destinations in Brazil and gaining a five percent market share in this segment in 2006. The company now operates as a low-fare, low-cost airline, with a fleet of eight Boeing 737 and two 767-300/ER aircraft. With an addition of two 767s on order, it plans to expand flights to Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Morocco. The company is also a leader in charter flights in Latin America.

Indonesian Up Start Orders 146s
PT Linus Airways, a recently established, low-cost Indonesian airline, leased two BAe 146-200s from BAe Regional Airline Systems. Delivery is set for later this summer. Linus – Lintasan Nusantara (bridge across the archipelago), aims to fill the air transport gap in the country between the existing legacy carriers, and the newly formed, low-cost airlines. Linus’ planned network is predominantly spread across the less dense, less competitive eastern half of the Indonesian archipelago. All flights will originate from Jakarta and other hubs to destinations that will include Medan, Palembang, Pekan Baru, Batam, Semarang and Tanjug Padan. The two BAe 146-200s will be the first airline passenger versions of the BAe 146 family to operate in Indonesia although there are two executive versions operating in the country.

Batavia Orders New ATRs
Indonesian low-cost carrier Batavia Air ordered 10 new ATR 72-500s and options for 10 additional aircraft. This major contract is the first ever signed by an Indonesian airline for new ATRs. The aircraft will expand the airline’s regional routes not served with mainline equipment as well as target untapped markets. The aircraft will be configured to 74 seats.
Since the beginning of the year, ATR has received orders for 77 new aircraft, some of them not yet unveiled. Since the beginning of the program, ATR has sold 914 aircraft (414 ATR 42s and 500 ATR 72s) and has delivered 735 (395 ATR 42s and 340 ATR 72s), thus posting a current backlog of 179 aircraft.