Eastern Airways to put Saab 2000 on UK register
Eastern Airways to put Saab 2000 on UK register Eastern Airways will be the first airline to put the Saab 2000 on to the UK register, Saab Aircraft Leasing (SAL) announced today (30 September) in Vienna. The independently owned airline is taking an ex-Crossair/SWISS 2000 on lease from SAL for delivery at the end of October, to operate Eastern's Aberdeen- Norwich route. The Saab 2000 has been part of Eastern Airways' fleet since 2003 when it started to wet lease an aircraft from Golden Air of Sweden. Following excellent passenger feedback on the large, spacious cabin and interior noise levels, the airline will make it a permanent part of its fleet and get it on to the British register. "We are delighted Eastern is committed to the Saab 2000," said Dag Waldenstrom, Vice President Sales and Marketing, Saab Aircraft Leasing. "Eastern is one of the fastest growing regional airlines in Europe and has proven that using 18-50-seaters on point-to-point markets with a simplified fare structure and full service onboard product can be addressed successfully. The Saab 2000 with its speed and economics is a useful tool for further growth." "Now we are taking the Saab 2000 into our fleet we are saluting Moritz Suter who helped in the original design and will reintroduce the name "Concordino". The aircraft is renowned for its jet-like performance and comfortable cabin, offering the widest seats in its class and importantly for us, turboprop economics. We have been pleased with the aircraft's performance over the past 12 months and hope to have it on the UK register by the end of October," said Richard Lake, CEO of Eastern Airways. Eastern Airways operates some 750 scheduled flights each week and will carry approximately 500,000 passengers this year on a network embracing Aberdeen, Belfast International, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Humberside, Inverness, Isle of Man, Leeds Bradford, London Stansted, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham East Midlands, Southampton, Teesside and Wick.In addition to its scheduled passenger services, Eastern Airways operates a special to-order passenger and freight aircraft charter service in the UK and mainland Europe for corporate and private clients. For further information visit the www.easternairways.com website. Saab Aircraft Leasing manages a portfolio of 289 Saab 340 and Saab 2000 aircraft leased to 25 customers in 13 countries. With 35 employees, the company's head office is in Washington, DC and has regional offices in Stockholm, Sweden; Tokyo, Japan. SAL is part of the Saab Aviation Services Business Unit of Saab AB Saab is one of the world's leading high-technology companies, with its main operations focusing on defence, aviation and space. The group covers a broad spectrum of competence and capabilities in systems integration. For further information please contact: Mr. Dag Waldenstrom Vice President Sales and Marketing, Saab Aircraft Leasing Phone +46 87 006700 www.saabaircraftleasing.com www.saab.se ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2004/09/30/20040930BIT00120/wkr0001.pdf