News
		December 22, 1998 "Air Atlantic Lands Contract" James Penwell, Vice-President, Air Atlantic Aircraft Maintenance Division, is pleased to announce that the St. John's, Newfoundland company has been awarded a major aircraft maintenance contract by Minneapolis-St. Paul based Mesaba Airlines. Mr. Penwell said Air Atlantic competed against five other aircraft maintenance facilities throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom to win the bid for this contract. The work will consist of major structural airframe inspections and modification work on fourteen (14) of Mesaba Airlines' fleet of Avro RJ85 jet aircraft. Work on the first RJ85 will begin in February of next year with project completion scheduled by the end of the 1999 calendar year. "Being awarded this contract by Mesaba Airlines, the largest operator of the British Aerospace RJ85 jet, is recognition by one of the world's leading regional airlines that our St. John's facility is a center of excellence," stated Mr. Penwell. He went on to say, "Our licensed aircraft maintenance engineers, avionics technicians and the other skilled professionals are delighted with the news of this contract and they are anxiously looking forward to getting work started on the project." Mr. Penwell acknowledged that Air Atlantic's reputation as an aircraft maintenance facility was a significant factor in securing the Mesaba business. He pointed out that Air Atlantic personnel have over twelve years experience maintaining an array of aircraft while specializing in the maintenance of both the British Aerospace 146 jet and the deHavilland Dash 8 turbo-prop. "Our expertise in maintaining the BAe146 to the highest safety standards, our power plant and engine capabilities on the Allied Signal ALF-502, which is very similar to the ALF-507 engine on Mesaba's RJ85's, combined with our intimate knowledge of the BAe146-200, which is practically identical to the RJ85, were undoubtedly strong factors in our favor when this contract was awarded," stated Mr. Penwell. F. Darrell Richardson, Vice-President & Chief Operating Officer of Mesaba Airlines, said, "We are very impressed with Air Atlantic's capabilities and experience maintaining British Aerospace products. The Air Atlantic team's expertise will allow Mesaba to fulfill the RJ85's C check maintenance requirements and still meet our scheduling demands." Mesaba Airlines employs nearly 3,000 aviation professionals and operates 18 Avro RJ85 jets and 72 Saab 340 turboprops on 91 routes in the United States and Canada with over 800 departures daily. The Air Atlantic Aircraft Maintenance Division is an integral part of I.M.P.'s growing core group of aviation companies which includes Innotech Aviation Limited, Execaire Inc., Pacific Avionics & Instruments Limited, Innotech Aviation Services Inc. and Air 500. The Innotech-Execaire Aviation Core Group provides aircraft maintenance, refurbishment, FBO fuel services, aircraft sales, managed flight operations and airline maintenance from over 12 airports across Canada. The parent company, I.M.P. Group International Inc., is a diversified privately-owned group of companies headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. A multi-national company employing over 2,500 worldwide, I.M.P.'s interests include aviation, aerospace, hotels, and marine industrial and medical supplies. - 30 - [Back to 1998 News]