Pacific Coastal introduces Saab 340 service to the Canadian West

SAAB AIRCRAFT LEASING
Market Report
Issue 13 May 2006
Pacific Coastal
introduces Saab 340
service to the
Canadian West Coast
Sol Lineas Aereas to fly
Saab 340s in Argentina
Poland’s Sky Express
teams with Direct Fly
M E S S AG E F RO M
Michael Magnusson
This issue has been timed to be distributed
at the RAA Annual Convention in Dallas during May. It is the most important regional
aviation gathering of the year with all regional airlines and suppliers well represented. For
us at Saab, it involves three hectic days
catching up with all our customers, suppliers
and possible new clients. I always say that
the RAA convention is big enough to attract
everyone but small enough so you can actually find everyone, something which can be a challenge at the gigantic
Farnborough and Paris Air Show events. I encourage our customers outside the
US to attend as well — I think you would find it worthwhile.
The industry as always continues to have its ups and downs. The large airlines
are doing better, even in the US, but they still have a long way to go. The continuing rise in fuel prices is obviously making the recovery longer and harder
for the jet market. In our small corner of the market, we enjoy a robust business, with more deals being done and our inventory of aircraft shrinking
steadily. During our RAA press conference I expect to be able to announce a
number of these deals. Interestingly, we continue to attract more business outside the traditional airline market — be it cargo, corporate or government
contracts. Reasonably priced turboprops attract many!
The Saab 2000 market is proving to be especially strong. At the moment,
we have no Saab 2000 aircraft on the ground. We will get back the majority of the Regional fleet during 2006, and are encouraged by the interest we
are seeing already for these aircraft. Many of our Saab 2000 customers are
doing well, such as Carpatair, FlyLAL, Eastern and OLT, just to name a few. With
four Saab 2000s flying in the US market for NASCAR racing teams, the versatility of the aircraft is attracting numerous operators. The Saab 2000 can do
90% of what a regional jet can do, but at a lower cost and offering more flexibility with its shorter runway capability.
The other aircraft doing very well is the Saab 340B. Availability is very limited and at SAL, we only have one currently in inventory. When Chicago
Express with its 17 Saab 340Bs went bankrupt in 2005 because of its parent company problems, we thought it would take some time to place such
a large fleet, but that was not the case. Colgan took the entire fleet very
quickly, driven by its new contract with Continental Airlines. On top of that,
Swiss sold nine remaining Saab 340Bs during 2005 in Europe, and AMR
sold an equal number in the US. This year already, REX has bought three
from CIT, Colgan is taking three from Bank of America, and a start-up carrier in Mongolia has bought two Saab 340Bs from AMR.
For those of you planning to attend the Farnborough Air Show in July, we will be
there as usual at the main Saab chalet, so please come and visit us. As it is
such a big event, we do not want to miss anyone.
Contents
Saab Aircraft Leasing posts strong year in 2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Saab 340s to be reintroduced to the Argentine market. . . . . . . . . 4
Lufthansa flies Saab Safir again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Next series of Saab ads will feature
Loganair, OLT and Golden Air. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Saab 340 Global Operators Conference
to be held in October. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Family run Pacific Coastal Airlines
expands fleet with three Saab 340As. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
OLT broadens international presence with
Malev cooperation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Carpatair takes Saab 2000 fleet to 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
PPG Aerospace manufactures cockpit windows
for Saab fleet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Upcoming events with Saab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Sky Express teams with Direct Fly
for 340 passenger services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
ERA airlines see traffic bolstered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Mongolia's Eznis Airways to fly Saab 340B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Bimini Island Air flies Saab 340A
for Las Vegas real estate company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Saab operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Market Report is published by
Saab Aircraft Leasing.
Editor: Kelly Murphy
Emerald Media
usemerald@aol.com
Europe: Alison Chambers
Emerald Media
alison@emeraldmedia.co.uk
Design and Layout:
Aeris Graphic Design
jenaeris@aol.com
Cover photo by: Garry Cotter
Michael Magnusson
President and CEO, Saab Aircraft Leasing
Printed in USA May 2006
©2006 Saab Aircraft
M a r ke t R e p o r t
Saab Aircraft Leasing
posts strong year in 2005
The year 2005 will be recorded in aviation history as the year of the turboprop comeback. New turboprop sales
surpassed regional jet sales for the
first time in 10 years and, in turn,
Saab Aircraft Leasing completed a
very successful year.
SAL placed 32 aircraft during last
year, including 10 Saab 2000s and 22
Saab 340s (See table below for details).
These turboprops were placed with
existing customers such as Carpatair,
Colgan, Eastern, IBC, Lithuanian,
Loganair, OLT, Penair and REX. In
addition, new customers were
sourced during 2005 including
Bimini, FlyLPI, Mash Executive,
Pacific Coastal and RAF Avia.
Included in these transactions
were two dedicated Cargo Saab
340As to IBC and RAF Avia, further
securing the Cargo market share for
the Saab 340. These latest orders will
grow the total of all Cargo Saab 340s
to 12, adding to the five existing
Quick Change aircraft.
As SAL enters 2006, the company
is already off to a great start with
deliveries for four Saab 340A aircraft
in progress. Currently, SAL has the
lowest inventory of available aircraft
in many years, totaling only seven
Saab 340As, one S340B and no Saab
2000s. Some 20 aircraft are scheduled
for lease returns during 2006, which
is nearly the same number of aircraft
Saab Aircraft Leasing reports the following
new business during 2005:
FlyLPI (Spain)
IBC (USA)
RAF Avia (Latvia)
Bimini (USA)
Mash Executive(Lebanon)
Transwest (Canada)
REX (Australia)
Pacific Coastal (Canada)
Bridges (UK)
Loganair (UK)
Colgan (US)
Penair (USA)
Shuttle America (US)
Two
One
One
One
One
One
Two
Two
One
Two
Three
One
One
Japanese Coast Guard
Two
Amber (Lithuania)
Eastern (UK)
Carpatair (Romania)
OLT (Germany)
Lithuanian Airlines
Un-announced
One
Two
Two
One
Four
One
32
Total
Saab
Saab
Saab
Saab
Saab
Saab
Saab
Saab
Saab
Saab
Saab
Saab
Saab
Saab
340A
340A Cargo
340A Cargo
340A
340A
340A
340A
340A
340A Cargo
340A
340A
340A
340A
340Bplus
(Conversion by Saab Aircraft)
Saab
Saab
Saab
Saab
Saab
Saab
340B
2000
2000
2000
2000
2000
(10 Saab 2000s and 22 Saab 340s)
Sale
Sale
Sale
Sale
Sale
Sale
Sale
Sale
Sale
Lease
Lease
Lease
Sale
Sale
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Lease
Sale
SAL has been placing annually.
“The transactions for 2005 show
a geographically wide spread
placement among diverse customers
clearly demonstrating the continuing
worldwide appeal of the Saab aircraft,“ said Michael Magnusson,
President and CEO of Saab Aircraft
Leasing. “We are also very pleased
that third parties placed another 87
Saabs to meet the demands of the
market.”
The worldwide fleet of Saab 340s
and Saab 2000s is approximately
500 units operated by nearly 50
c u s tomers in 20 countries. By
December 2005, the Saab 340 fleet
had accumulated 11.8m flight hours
and 13.2m cycles. The highest time
aircraft is at 44,500 hours, and the
highest time cycles is at 53,700, with
a long useful life of 60,000 hours and
90,000 cycles under current MRB. The
Saab 2000 fleet had accumulated
970,000 hours and 956,000 cycles by
December. The highest time Saab
2000 aircraft is 23,200 hours and
22,400 cycles reflecting a much
younger fleet.
Tracking third party activities
Saab aircraft were in demand during
2005, therefore a large number of
aircraft have been placed. These
consist of 40 Saab 340As, 35 Saab
340Bs and 12 Saab 2000s. This total
of 87 Saab transactions, added to
the 32 SAL aircraft, makes for an
unprecedented 119 Saab aircraft
placements. SAL placed 37% of the
Saab 340As, a few 340Bs (due to lack
of aircraft availability), and 45% of
the Saab 2000s.
Bold indicates new customers to the Saab family.
M a r k e t R e p o r t May 2006
3
M a r ke t R e p o r t
Saab 340s to be reintroduced to
the Argentine market
Argentina is seeing a
re-emergence of the
Saab 340 with Sol
Lineas Aereas' (SOL)
recent purchase of two
Saab 340As. This new startup carrier
was created to fill the void left by the
bankruptcy of Southern Wings.
Planning to launch services in July
from its Rosario, Argentina base, the
two former Shuttle America Saab
340s, will be delivered in June.
Director General Gustavo Cebreiro,
an Argentinean aviation industry
veteran, tells Saab Market Report
that Sol Lineas’ parent company,
Transatlantica, has many interests in
the travel sector and therefore has
long-term plans to include the airline.
The purchased aircraft will initially fly twice daily from Rosario to
Cordoba, three daily flights to
Buenos Aires’ Aeroparque downtown
airport, and two daily flights between Sante Fe and Aeroparque,
with a stopover in Rafaela.
Lufthansa flies Saab Safir again
In 1955, Lufthansa restarted its
airline operations and owing to this
expansion needed to train future
pilots. This growth prompted the
purchase of two Safirs in 1954 and a
third joined in 1958. All three were
in service until 1967 when they
where replaced by Beech Debonairs.
By then Lufthansa had trained nearly
550 pilots on the Safirs.
The aircraft were then resold to
private buyers. One of the trainers
was purchased by E. Schmidt near
Hannover. The aircraft had logged
6000 flying hours, and Schmidt flew
another 1400 hours until his death in
1999. At that time, his family donated the Safir back to Lufthansa. The
aircraft was fully restored by a
dedicated group of volunteers.
Photos by Reimar Wendt
Bremen-based
Lufthansa
Flight
Training has lovingly restored a 1954
vintage Saab Safir training aircraft
for exhibition flights. The Safir was
developed by Saab in the 1940s as a
basic trainer for both military and
commercial airlines. Between 1945
and 1966, Saab built 323 of these
trainer s. It was considered an
excellent aircraft to train budding
airline pilots. The Safir was soon
purchased by Sabena in Belgium, Air
France, Government Flight School in
Netherlands, Garuda in Indonesia
and newly re-started Lufthansa in
Germany. In addition, the Air Forces
of Sweden, Norway, Finland, Austria,
Tunisia and Ethiopia use the Safir.
4
M a r k e t R e p o r t May 2006
Lufthansa Technik painted the Safir in
the livery it wore in the 1960s with
the famous “flying crane” on the fin
— after 160 hours it looked like
new. On August 2, 2002 the aircraft
was finally rolled out after its extensive rework.
Today, it is based in Bremen and
used for pleasure flights and company
publicity events. The Safir is flown by
five active and retired flight instructors. The 1954 vintage airframe
proudly claims total flying time of
approximately 7600 hours. The historical aircraft is stored in a Bremen
hangar properly situated just next to
OLT’s Saab 340s and Saab 2000s.
M a r ke t R e p o r t
Next series of Saab ads will feature executives
from Loganair, OLT and Golden Air
@@!N AIRLINE #%/ HAS MANY THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT
3AABISONETHING
) NEVERWORRY ABOUT
*IM#AMERON,OGANAIR
*IM #AMERON APPRECIATES 3AAB FOR OUR ROBUST AIRCRAFT !ND OUR ROBUST BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS
4O HEAR MORE FROM *IM VISIT SAABAIRCRAFTLEASINGCOM OR SAABGROUPCOM 3AAB 3ATISlED
Building on its testimonial advertising campaign launched last year,
Saab Aircraft Leasing will unveil
three new ads during the RAA
Annual Convention in Dallas, Texas.
One of this year’s three ads will
feature the largest European Saab
340 operator, Loganair. Flying as a
British Airways partner throughout
the United Kingdom with a 13strong Saab 340 fleet, Loganair
P re s i d e n t J i m C a m e ro n t o u t s
t h e Saab as “a robust aircraft.”
Testimonials from OLT of Germany
and Golden Air of Sweden will also
be highlighted in the ad series.
These European airlines operate the
Saab 340 and Saab 2000 in their
respective fleets enjoying the benefits and versatility of both models.
Saab 340 operators
invited to October conference and trade show
m
it
m
e
ve
• de
nt
lopment
Saab 340
• s
e
rv
Electric. Also, Embraer Aviation Services
has joined as a Bronze sponsor.
ic
e
• c
om
mm
n
t
•
October 2 – 6
Clearwater Beach
Florida
e
se
rvi
ce • commitm
en
t
e
ev
pm
lo
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itment • deve
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ent • ervice
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Global Operators
Conference
•
•
d
Saab Aircraft of America is pleased to
announce the Saab 340 Global
Operator’s Conference and Trade
Show October 2-5, 2006 at the
Sheraton Sand Key Resor t in
Clearwater Beach, Florida. A productive
event is being planned bringing the
vendor community and the Saab 340
operators together.
To date, two Gold sponsors are
c o m m i t t e d : A P P H L t d a n d General
For fur ther information contact:
Rober t Kline
Director Sales and Marketing
Saab Aircraft of America
+1 703 406 7308
Rober t.kline@saabus.com
www.saabaircraft.com
M a r k e t R e p o r t May 2006
5
M a r ke t R e p o r t
Family run
Pacific Coastal Airlines
expands fleet with
three Saab 340As
The Canadian West Coast has welcomed the air service of
years. Known as the “home town airline”, Pacific Coastal
embodies its reputation as it is owned and operated by the
Smith family — father and four sons.
6
M a r k e t R e p o r t May 2006
Photo: Garry Cotter
Vancouver-based Pacific Coastal Airlines for more than 30
M a r ke t R e p o r t
In 1975, Daryl Smith saw a need to
expand the coastal and interior
regions of the vast British Columbia
area. While his career started in the
logging business, Daryl gained his
aviation reputation from 36 years in
the business both as a pilot and
owner of several regional carriers.
Growing the airline from its small
beginnings, Pacific Coastal today
operates out of 14 bases with a fleet
of 24 various aircraft. Among these
are eight float planes, the DHC Beaver
and the Grumman Goose, which are
based at the Port Hardy Airport. A
variety of fixed-wing aircraft, including
the Beech King Air 200 and 1900,
Embraer Bandeirante and Shorts 360,
are based at Vancouver International
Airport’s South Terminal.
The airline’s most recent development has been the addition of three
Saab 340As to its fleet during the first
quarter. The Saabs will be used to
replace Shorts 360s on existing routes
to Port Hardy, Bella Bella and Masset
in the Northern Region and to
Cranbrook in the Southern Region.
Masset
Klemtu
Bella Bella
Bella Coola
Ocean
Falls
Hakai Pass
Rivers Inlet
Anahim
Lake
Port Hardy
Campbell River
Comox Powell
River
Vancouver
Victoria
The Saab 340’s
appealing operating costs
“We chose the 30-seat Saab 340 aircraft because of its lower operating
costs,” President Quentin Smith tells
Saab Market Report. He underlines
that the aircraft were purchased and
are able to operate in and out of
4,000 foot runways. “We are already
starting to talk about a fourth Saab
340 as traffic continues to grow and
we look to sell our Embraer
Bandeirantes,” he added.
While Daryl retains the titles of
CEO and Director, his four sons play
a vital role in the daily operations
of the airline. Son Quentin has a
wealth of aviation experience in
addition to his degrees from the
University of British Columbia and
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.
Vice Presidents Sheldon and Spencer
run the Northern and Southern British
Columbia regions with management
staff experienced from tenure at Air
Canada, AirBC, Trans Provincial
Airlines and others. While another
son, Nevil, assists the maintenance
department in the Southern Region.
Gearing up for another
busy summer season,
Quentin notes that while
about 70% of Pacific
Coastal’s passengers are
flying for business, a
growing number of tickets
Williams
Lake
are being purchased for
leisure travel. He points
to the Cranbrook market
in the majestic East
Kootenays which attracts
both tourists and skiers.
In the Northern Region,
Masset is a favorite destination for fishermen.
Looking ahead, Quentin
Cranbrook
underlines the fleet mix of
the 19-seat Beech 1900
Trail
and the 30-seat Saab 340
offering the right seating
Top to bottom: Family owned and operated,
the Smiths pictured left to right: Daryl,
Quentin, Spencer, Sheldon and Nevil. While
Daryl's roots are in the logging business, he
gained his reputation through 36 years of
aviation experience as a pilot and owner of
several regional carriers.
versatility for the various markets while
offering the frequencies required.
A well-established name on the
Canadian West Coast, Pacific Coastal
employs more than 300 people
including pilots, flight attendants,
engineers, dispatchers, customer service agents and reservation, freight
and office workers. Thanks to the Smith
family, over the past three decades
Pacific Coastal has successfully
expanded air travel for passengers in
the coastal and interior regions of
British Columbia.
M a r k e t R e p o r t May 2006
7
M a r ke t R e p o r t
Saab 340 and 2000 operator OLT
of Bremen, Germany is widening its
international ties with a newly signed
code-share agreement with Malev
of Hungary that centers on a new
scheduled service between Debrecan
and Budapest. The twice daily flight,
which commenced on May 1, is
operated by OLT’s 33-seat Saab 340.
In addition, OLT CEO Gerd Weber
has confirmed the creation of a new
subsidiary company, Civis Air, that
will make it possible for OLT’s aircraft
to be flown by Hungarian pilots and
be maintained under a Hungarian
registration number from its new
Debrecan base. The new Civis Air is
expected to carry 50,000 passengers to
and from Debrecan by 2010, by which
time the East Hungarian airport will
OLT broadens
international
presence
with Malev
cooperation
exceed 100,000 passengers a year.
Malev and OLT’s cooperation also
extends to Malev’s services to
Hamburg, Berlin and Munich and
OLT’s flights between Berlin and
Bremen.
Independently owned OLT is one
of Europe’s longest established
regional carriers. It was founded in
Emden, Germany in 1958. Today the
airline flies from Bremen to Bristol,
Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, London
City, Nuremburg, Toulouse, Zurich and
Hamburg and operates a daily service
from Bremen to Paris on behalf of Air
France Regional. Partner airlines
include SN Brussels and SAS, for
whom OLT offers passengers onward
connections to Africa, Scandinavia,
North America and Asia.
Expanding
Romanian
regional
Carpatair and sister airline Moldavian
Airlines continues to grow its Saab
fleet having signed for a 12th
Saab 2000 with Saab Aircraft Leasing.
The 50-seater will arrive in time to
enable the company to debut on new
international services from Timisoara to
Paris CDG on May 22. Flights will
initially be operated three times a
week, but President and CEO Nicolae
Petrov says he hopes the service can
quickly grow to six flights weekly,
depending on demand. Carpatair is
pressing ahead with more destinations
to western Europe. In April it started
flights to Frankfurt, complementing
its existing flights to Munich,
Germany. Its proposed flights to
London Stansted, however, will be
delayed until early 2007. These flights
will utilize 100-seat Fokker 100s.
Carpatair
takes Saab 2000 fleet to 12
8
M a r k e t R e p o r t May 2006
M a r ke t R e p o r t
PPG manufactures cockpit
windows for Saab aircraft
PPG produces about 70 spare windows annually in Huntsville, Alabama
for the Saab 340 and 2000. The company makes them readily available to
Saab operators globally from stock
in PPG depots around the world.
During the past decade, the
aerospace business of PPG Industries
has delivered about 650 cockpit windows for the Saab 340 and Saab
2000 (both aircraft models use the
same windows) since the Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania-based company started
making them in Huntsville in 1996.
Proven to be reliable and durable
aircraft windows, the PPG windows
occasionally need minor repairs and
have an estimated life of about
25,000 flight hours or about 10 years
on a regional aircraft.
Using many proprietary production materials and techniques for all its
aircraft windows, PPG claims a superior product compared to its competitors
in terms of optical quality, temperature
uniformity and overall service life. For
example, proprietary Herculite II
chemically strengthened glass reduces
the weight and increases the strength
of PPG’s aircraft cockpit transparencies. Also, using laminated glass, in
which two sheets of glass surround a
flexible vinyl interlayer, provides extra
strength and durability to aircraft
windshields from PPG.
Its beginnings...
Founded in 1883 as Pittsburgh
Plate Glass Company, PPG Industries
today is a global supplier of
coatings, glass, fiber glass and chemicals. Headquartered in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, PPG has more than
100 production facilities worldwide
employing over 30,000 employees.
In 2005, PPG generated sales of
$10.2 billion.
Since 1926, PPG Aerospace has
been a world leader in production and
a manufacturer of original equipment
and replacement cockpit windshields
and windows for the commercial,
military, regional and general aviation
markets.
Upcoming
events with
Saab
2006
May 22-25
RAA Annual Convention
Dallas, Texas
www.raa.org
June 5-7
RACCA Spring Conference
Wichita, Kansas
www.raccaonline.org
July 17-23
Farnborough International Air Show
Farnborough, United Kingdom
www.farnborough.com
September 6-8
Regional Aviation Association of
Australia Convention
Sunshine Coast, Queensland
www.raaa.com.au
September 27-29
ERA General Assembly
Barcelona, Spain
www.eraa.org
October 2-5
Saab 340 Global Operators
Conference & Trade Show
Clearwater, Florida
www.saabaircraft.com
October 17-19
National Business Aviation
Association
Orlando, Florida
www.nbaa.org
November 5-7
Air Transport Association of Canada
2006 Annual General Meeting
Victoria, British Columbia
www.atac.ca
M a r k e t R e p o r t May 2006
9
M a r ke t R e p o r t
Sky Express teams with Direct Fly for
340 passenger services
Warsaw, Poland-based Sky Express
recently took delivery of its fourth
Saab 340A, coinciding with an
expansion into passenger operations
from April 11. The regional cargo
operator, which has three 340 QC
versions, is teaming with virtual
airline, Direct Fly to offer regular
domestic and international passenger flights from Poland, bypassing
the traditional Warsaw hub. Flights
from Warsaw to Wroclaw and
Gdansk will also be offered.
Direct Fly, via www.directfly.pl,
will offer a strong network of scheduled services linking Gdansk with
Berlin, Bydgoszcz with Berlin, and
Copenhagen and Lodz with Berlin.
Domestically, it will use Sky Express’
Saabs and crew to serve flights
from Gdansk to Krakow, as well as
to Warsaw. In addition, it will run
charters to the Ukraine.
“This is a very exciting development for us — being able to support
10
M a r k e t R e p o r t May 2006
direct, south to north of Poland
routes, without a stop in Warsaw
and we are very pleased to be moving
into passenger operations with
Direct Fly,” said General Manager
Contracts Jacek Roszak. Sky Express
has been a Saab customer since
October of last year, using the aircraft for freight flights for UPS and
TNT. The newer 340s complement
a fleet of six Let 410 UVP-E. Two
of Sky Express’ aircraft have been
purchased — one has been leased
from Saab Aircraft Leasing, while
another two have been acquired
from Skyways. The newest aircraft to
enter the fleet will not be a standard
passenger version.
Paving the way for future
Saab aircraft in Eastern
Europe
Saab Aircraft Leasing sees a growing market in Poland, which will
yield a strong need for 30-seat aircraft
in particular. The Saab 340 is an
ideal upgrade aircraft and good for
pathfinding new routes too, says
SAL Vice President Europe Dag
Waldenström. The last few years
have seen a significant increase in
the demand for air services to and
from Eastern Europe, with the
region now largely incorporated into
the European Union (EU). In 2004,
the nations of Czech Republic,
Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,
Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia all
joined the EU and, in 2007, Bulgaria
and Romania are set to follow suit.
Latest statistics provided by
OAG for March 2006 show an
overall increase in frequency by
13% and capacity by 15% for the
Eastern European market (excluding
Russia). This represents an additional 5,700 flights and just over 715,000
seats available to and from Eastern
Europe respectively, compared with
March 2005.
M a r ke t R e p o r t
ERA airlines see traffic
bolstered turboprops
continue their popularity
European Regions Airline Association
members saw their passenger
traffic increase 6.3% during 2005.
Load factors averaged a record
61.5%. Eurocontrol’s program to
minimize enroute delays appears to
be working, delegates heard, as ERA
gathered for its spring meeting in
Copenhagen. This is reflected in
airlines’ average sector time increasing in line with average sector distance (74 minutes from 72 minutes in
2004, on distances of 550km, up
19kms from last year).
ERA President Antonis
Simigdalas, COO of Aegean Airlines
of Athens, noted: “We can stop talking of recovery and now talk about
progress.” Once again the merits of
the turboprop were to the fore, as
high fuel prices refuse to go away.
SAL, which has recently seen existing
customers in Europe add to the fleet
(including Eastern Airways of the UK
and Carpatair of Romania) reports it
only has a few Saab 2000s available
and when used aircraft come on to
the market, they are quickly placed. It
is also seeing new markets such as
Poland expand with new airlines investing in Saab 340 equipment (see
related story on page 10)
“The pendulum is certainly
swinging back for turboprops,” stated
GECAS Senior VP RJ Programs Todd
Freeman, who while having many
50-seat regional jets to place, had to
acknowledge the record 150 orders
placed for turboprops last year.
Saab Aircraft Leasing looks
forward to meeting ERA member
airlines at the New Routes’ New
Route Europe networking event
in Warsaw during May 21-23
(www.newrouteeurope.com). ERA’s
26th annual meeting will be held in
Barcelona during September 27-29.
The fir st Saab 340B for a new
regional airline in Mongolia, Eznis
Airways, has recently been delivered.
Eznis has purchased two Saab 340Bs,
formerly
operated
by American
Eagle. Saab Aerotech in Linköping
overhauled both aircraft. The first
30-seater completed the long delivery flight to Mongolia and was met
by enthusiastic airline employees.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Bimini
Island Air has based its second Saab
340A in Las Vegas, Nevada recently
and will fly charter flights for a local
real estate company.
Founded in June 1993, the Bimini
companies provide a diverse arena of
services from aircraft brokerage,
maintenance and sales, to corporate
and pleasure charter flights to the
Bahamas and surrounding areas.
Bimini’s fleet also includes the Cessna
402, Metro III, Falcon 10, Cessna
Caravan, Lear 25/35, Gulfstream I and
an Astra.
M a r k e t R e p o r t May 2006
11
S a a b o p e ra t o r s
EXPRESS
MOTORSPORTS
R
Operator
Country
340
2000 Operator
Country
340
2000
Europe & Africa
Americas
Operator
Country
340
Aerolitoral
Mexico
13
Air Åland
Finland
2
OMNI
American Eagle
USA
79
Amber Air
Lithuania
1
Overland Airways
Nigeria
1
Bimini Island Air
USA
2
Avitrans Nordic
Sweden
6
RAF-AVIA
Latvia
1
Calm Air
Canada
7
Blue 1
Finland
Regional Airlines
France
Colgan Air
USA
Sky Express
Poland
Sky Taxi
Poland
1
Swedish Air Force
Sweden
9
1
Swedline
Sweden
2
3
Asia & Australasia
Corporate Express
Canada
FGI
Hendrick Motorsports
USA
MOTORSPORTS
R
5
Carpatair
Romania
2
1
CCA
Czech Republic
4
1
Darwin Airline
Switzerland
DOT
Lithuania
38
USA
3
10
4
EXPRESS
Portugal
2
4
4
Indiana University
USA
1
dauair
Germany
IBC Airways
USA
3
Eastern Airways
Great Britain
4
Air Nelson
New Zealand
15
1
Fly LAL
Lithuania
4
Air Rarotonga
Cook Islands
1
Fly LPI
Spain
1
Cosmic Air
Nepal
1
Golden Air
Sweden
11
Hokkaido Air System
Japan
3
2
Japan Air Commuter
Japan
11
4
Japan Civil Aviation Bureau
Japan
Japan Coast Guard
Japan
Macair
Australia
4
Regional Express
Australia
25
Yeti Airlines
Nepal
JMJ Flight Services
USA
1
Joe Gibbs Racing
USA
Mesaba Airlines
USA
50
Murray Aviation
USA
1
Kenya Airways
Kenya
Napleton Aviation Group
USA
1
Lagunair
Spain
3
Loganair
Great Britain
Mali
1
Pacific Coastal Airlines
Canada
Peninsula Airways
USA
7
Provincial Airlines
Canada
2
Moldavian Airlines
Moldavian Rep
1
Shuttle America
USA
4
Nordic Airways
Sweden
1
Sky Bahamas
Bahamas
1
Nordic Solutions Air Services
Lithuania
3
TAG
Guatemala
1
Norse Air
South Africa
6
Transwest Air
Canada
2
OLT
www.saabaircraftleasing.com
www.saabaircraft.com
Germany
Saab Aircraft Leasing
Postal address:
Box 7774, 103 96 Stockholm
Street address:
Sveavägen 17, 11th Floor
111 57 Stockholm
Tel +46 8 463 1400
Fax +46 8 463 1409
4
13
Mali Air Express
Saab Aircraft Leasing, Inc.
21300 Ridgetop Circle
Sterling, Virginia 20166
Tel: +1 703 406 7200
Fax: +1 703 406 7224
2000
Europe & Africa
2
2
1
2
2
2
3
Saab Aircraft Leasing
4-7-13-205 Meguro
Meguro-ku
Tokyo, Japan 153-0063
Tel +81 3 3792 4300
Fax +81 3 3792 4315
Saab Aircraft of America, LLC
21300 Ridgetop Circle
Sterling, Virginia 20166
Tel: +1 703 406 7200
Fax: +1 703 406 7222
Saab Aerotech
SE-581 88 Linköping
Sweden
Tel +46 13 18 00 00
Fax +46 13 18 51 15
M a r k e t R e p o r t May 2006