AAR to Perform Heavy Maintenance for Allegiant Air

Defense News ~ WOOD DALE, Ill., Jan. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AAR (NYSE: AIR) announced today that it has signed a five-year agreement with Allegiant Air, LLC to provide maintenance and modification services for Allegiant's fleet of 46 MD-80 aircraft.
Scheduled maintenance work will be performed at AAR's MRO facilities in Miami and Oklahoma City. Additionally, AAR's Indianapolis facility will be available to support Allegiant's unscheduled maintenance requirements and Allegiant may request that AAR provide technical and engineering support services from various field locations. The contract builds upon an October 2008 agreement, under which AAR was contracted to perform maintenance on six of Allegiant's MD-80 aircraft.
"We've built an excellent working relationship with Allegiant and are pleased to be taking the MD-80 maintenance program to a new level," said Donald J. Wetekam, AAR's Group Vice President of MRO. "Our team is committed to providing reliable service with competitive turn times that will enable Allegiant to operate its fleet cost-effectively while maintaining their high levels of passenger service."
AAR leverages its diverse MRO, engineering and logistics capabilities to offer airlines customized, integrated solutions that lower costs, increase asset availability and ensure high levels of quality, safety and service. With heavy maintenance facilities located throughout the United States, AAR is the second largest independent MRO provider in North America and ranks among the top ten in the world.
A subsidiary of Allegiant Travel Company (Nasdaq: ALGT), Allegiant Air, LLC is a low-cost, high-efficiency, all-jet passenger airline focused on linking travelers in small cities to world-class leisure destinations such as Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Orlando, Fla., Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla., and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
AAR is a leading provider of products and value-added services to the worldwide aviation/aerospace industry. With facilities and sales locations around the world, AAR uses its close-to-the-customer business model to serve airline and defense customers through three operating segments: Aviation Supply Chain; Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul and Structures and Systems. More information can be found at www.aarcorp.com.
This press release contains certain statements relating to future results, which are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on beliefs of Company management, as well as assumptions and estimates based on information currently available to the Company, and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated, including those factors discussed under Item 1A, entitled "Risk Factors", included in the Company's May 31, 2009 Form 10-K. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize adversely, or should underlying assumptions or estimates prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described. These events and uncertainties are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many are beyond the Company's control.
The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events. For additional information, see the comments included in AAR's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.