American Airlines has
reached an agreement in principle on a multi-million-dollar contract with
Synergy Aerospace, Inc. to do heavy maintenance work on 29 Fokker F100
aircraft. The contract includes seven light C-checks, 22 heavy C-checks, certain
modifications including seat reconfigurations and installation of Enhanced
Ground Proximity Warning Systems, and component repair and replacement.

The initial work is expected to last from 12 months to 15 months, with
Synergy receiving the first overhauled aircraft by June 15, 2005. A light
C- check takes five days and is done once a year. A heavy C-check takes 15
days and is accomplished every five years.

“We competed against some of the best maintenance, repair and overhaul
(MRO) facilities in the world doing Fokker aircraft work and won this
contract,” said Bob Reding, Senior Vice President of Technical Operations
for American. “This contract validates our maintenance philosophy that we
can efficiently and reliably complete our own maintenance work in-house
and become competitive for third-party work by diligently adopting the
principles of Continuous Improvement and working collaboratively with our
unions.

“We believe that our ‘Pull Together - Win Together’ employee engagement
philosophy is the correct path for our long-term success in this intensely
competitive industry,” Reding added.

Previously, American leased the aircraft, currently stored in the Mojave
Desert, and Tulsa mechanics maintained them. Upon retirement from
American, the F100s were returned to an aircraft leasing company, which
subsequently sold them to Synergy Aerospace, a division of The Synergy
Group, a privately held holding company which includes Colombia-based
Avianca, Ocean Air of Brazil and Peru-based Wayra.
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