ATR

PIA, a carrier based in Karachi, Pakistan, last week signed a $100 million contract to buy seven new ATR 42-500s as replacements for its aging Fokker 27s. The first of the 48- seat turboprops will be delivered next May. The last plane will be delivered in 2007. PIA is the second new customer this year for ATR, which has sold 70 new planes this year. With a fleet of 39 airplanes, including nine regional aircraft, PIA flies to 24 communities within Pakistan and 42 international destinations.

Bombardier

Work is now under way on an expansion of a Bombardier [BBD] service center at Love Field in Dallas. The facility will be nearly 10,000 square feet once completed. The service center handles Bombardier's Learjet, Challenger and Global aircraft. Once completed, about 125 will work at the center. Within five years, Bombardier projects it will employ 197 workers.

Eaton

Eaton [ETN] last week completed the purchase of Cobham's aerospace fluid and air units, which earned $26 million on sales of $210 million last year. The Cobham units in the deal include FR-HiTemp and Stanley Aviation.

Avidyne

Avidyne last week completed its merger with Ryan International. Avidyne will maintain Ryan's offices in Columbus, Ohio, as its Safety Systems Group headquarters. In the deal, Ryan's active traffic display and alerting technologies will be added to Avidyne's avionics systems.