BAe

Lufthansa Regional airlines, in a three-part deal with BAe Regional Aircraft, has leased 11 additional BAe 146-300s and the carriers have extended the leases of three Avro RJ85s. With this deal, the Lufthansa Regional carriers will be the largest fleet of BAe regional jets with 37 aircraft. The group includes Lufthansa Cityline, Eurowings, Augsbrug Airways, Contact Air and Air Dolomiti. The deal includes three separate lease transactions. Eurowings is leasing six BAe 146-300s, which will be delivered between April and September. Eurowings currently has eight BAe 146-200/300s. Air Dolomiti is leasing five BAe 146-300s, also to be delivered between April and September. These are the first 146s for the Italian carrier. Lufthansa Cityline is selling three Avro RJ85s back to BAe Regional Aircraft and then it will lease the planes back. In the end, Cityline will have 13 RJ85s on lease and still own five similar planes.

Skyways

Skyways, Sweden's largest domestic airline, has leased five Saab 340As to other Swedish carriers. Avitrans, a new Swedish airline, took delivery in January of three 340As. Two planes have been leased by Avitrans. A third was purchased and then leased to Nordic Solutions, a freight operator in Sweden, for one year. In addition, Ericsson Capital purchased two 340As with one delivered in March and the second to be delivered in June. Only five Saab 340s remain in Skyways' active fleet and it plans to dispose of these by the end of the year. The carrier continues to fly Fokker 50s. It is looking to acquire larger aircraft, but it has not made a decision.

Standard Aero

Transport Canada has certified Standard Aero to repair and overhaul all models of the GE CF34-8 engines, which power the Bombardier [BBD] CRJ 700 and CRJ 900 RJs along with the Embraer [ERJ] 170. The Canadian certification of the Winnepeg, Manitoba, operation is recognized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other regulatory agencies.

FlightSafety

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has approved three of FlightSafety International's centers to provide fingerprinting services for the foreign pilot flight training candidate program. The approved locations are in Paris, Montreal and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Three centers in the United States - Savannah, New York and Wichita - have received similar approvals.

Harris

The FAA will spend $57 million through 2009 with Harris [HRS] for its next generation of weather and radar hardware and software program. The new program will enable air traffic control centers to see real-time weather information in a graphic format instead of alphanumeric data displays. Under this new contract, Harris will be replacing its first generation of real-time weather monitors that were installed in 1996 at a cost of $131 million.

FBO Air

After obtaining $4.5 million in private funding, FBO Air [FBOR] turned around and spent $2.7 million to purchase two fixed base operations. The Scottsdale, Ariz., firm obtained the funds through the sales of secured notes and convertible stock. The funding deal was structured so that FBO Air could tap an additional $1.25 million in the near future. FBO Air purchased Tech Aviation Service in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Penn., and Central Plains Aviation in Garden City, Kan. The local management and employees have been retained at each location. The two operators are the first in a string of acquisitions FBO Air hopes to make.

Avcorp

Avcorp Industries, a Vancouver company that designs and builds major airframe structures for Bombardier, Boeing [BA] and Cessna, recently complete a private placement to boost its working capital. More than 9.6 million units were sold to inside and outside investors. The Canadian company did not disclose how much the offering raised.

Avborne

Avborne Group, based in Miami, has sold its Avborne Accessory Group to Dover Corp. [DOV], a diversified New York-based company. Dover has placed Avborne in its Sargent Controls & Aerospace unit, which is based in Tucson, Ariz. Dover intends to retain the Avborne name as it expands into the aftermarket business.