Air Panama Launches Saab Service
Air Panama took delivery of its first ex Colgan Saab 340B in December, with a second aircraft scheduled for arrival in early 2009. Saab Aircraft Leasing acted as a broker for both the airline and TurboLease, a Connecticut-based company acting as the lessor in this transaction. Serial Numbers 294 and 299 will replace Air Panama's aging Fokker F27s and will be used on service to Bocas del Toro, Changuinola, as well as San Jose in Costa Rica.
Air Panama employs approximately 200 staff and flies 175,000 passengers annually to more than 20 destinations within Panama. The airline flies nearly 25,000 takeoffs and landings per year.

BA Takes E-Jets for CityFlyer
British Airways signed a contract for 11 Embraer E-Jets including six ERJ 170s and five ERJ 190SRs as part of a fleet modernization program for CityFlyer, its wholly owned regional airline subsidiary.
CityFlyer operates domestic and international routs from London City Airport. The deal, valued at $376.5 million, also includes options for another three ERJ 190SRs which would bring the value to $489 million, if all options are confirmed.
The ERJ 170 obtained steep approach certification to operate at London City Airport in June 2007. This approach uses a software solution developed within the existing fly-by-wire system, which means improved flight quality and control and reduced pilot workload, with less weight and maintenance cost. The ERJ 190SR is currently undergoing a series of engineering evaluation tests for gaining its steep approach certification by the end of 2009.
The first BA CityFlyer ERJ 170, configured with 76 seats, is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter.
In order to support its new Embraer fleet during the next 10 years, British Airways also signed the Embraer Pool Flight Hour Program, which provides optimized inventory control at reduced initial investments for parts and infrastructure.

500th E-Jet Delivered
In separate news, Embraer reached a milestone by delivering its 500th E-Jet, an ERJ 170 to France’s Regional - Compagnie Aérienne Européenne.
The handover ceremony for the Regional ERJ 170 was in São José dos Campos, Brazil, headquarters, merely six months after the 400th E-Jet was delivered, in June 2008. Regional, a wholly owned Air France subsidiary, accepted its first ERJ 170, just three months earlier, in September 2008.
Regional’s ERJ 170 is configured with 76 seats, in a single-class layout. The French airline is Embraer’s largest customer in Europe, and currently has 50 Embraer aircraft (six ERJ 190s, two EJR170s, 28 ERJ 145s, nine ERJ 135s, and five EMB 120 Brasilias) in its fleet.
On September 30, 2008, Embraer had logged 865 firm orders and 813 options for the E-Jets family. With 500 aircraft delivered to date, the family has a broad base of 52 operators in 35 countries, on five continents. The planes that have already been delivered have accumulated more that 2.2 million flight hours with outstanding schedule reliability, and have transported more than 100 million passengers.
Regional - Compagnie Aérienne Européenne was created in March 2001 by the merger of Flandre Air, Proteus Airlines, and Régional Airlines. The company serves 46 cities: 20 in France and 26 in other European countries. Regional’s headquarters are located in Nantes, in the West of France. The airline operates 62 aircraft, including 50 from Embraer. It is supported by two company-owned maintenance centers, in Clermont Ferrand and Lille. Regional is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Air France Group.

Colgan Upgrades Augusta, ME Service
Colgan Air, Inc. is upgrading service in Augusta with the introduction of Saab 340-B turboprop aircraft, beginning January 5, replacing the Beech 1900 now used on the US Airways Express service between Augusta and Logan International Airport in Boston.
“Passenger comfort will be greatly enhanced,” said President Buddy Casey. “Larger, cabin class, faster and more comfortable aircraft, coupled with connections to US Airways network, offers customers a much more desirable flying experience. We value our relationship with the communities and businesses we serve, so we are looking forward to taking service to a higher level.
The 19-passenger Beech 1900 planes that currently serve Augusta are being retired from the Colgan fleet. We are streamlining our fleet to operate the Saabs and the Q-400 turboprops. It was no longer cost effective to operate three aircraft types.”