Regional Airlines Will Benefit from New CRJ Series Total Support Program (TSP)	May 2006

Regional airlines throughout the world flying the Bombardier CRJ Series can now turn to Lufthansa Technik AG (LHT) for technical support of their 50- to 90- seat regional jet fleets.

Bombardier recently selected LHT to introduce a Total Support Program (TSP) for the Bombardier CRJ fleet, which will provide new and existing operators of the CRJ regional jet with comprehensive component and maintenance support as well as other tangible business benefits.

The new support program builds on LHT’s position as one of the largest providers of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, and the Hamburg, Germany based company’s long standing position as an approved overhaul facility for the Bombardier CRJ.

Lufthansa Technik will offer a comprehensive maintenance support package including auxiliary power unit, landing gear, wheels, tires, brakes and rotables. LHT will also maintain an exchange pool of components to support dispatch of the aircraft. The operator may also opt for a repair and overhaul program on the CF34 engine from Lufthansa Technik Aero Alzey.

Launch of the TSP will help ensure that Bombardier CRJ aircraft continue to have the lowest operating and maintenance costs in their respective classes, and that CRJ Series maintenance costs will remain well below those of any competitor aircraft.

As the Bombardier CRJ Series continues to win new orders, the maintenance package being offered by Lufthansa Technik will be of special interest to start-up airlines that do not have the infrastructure in place to handle the work themselves.

In addition to addressing the technical requirements of a new aircraft fleet type, the TSP will eliminate surprises for an operator and make the cash flow planning for maintenance support more predictable. This new program can be organized to meet an aircraft operator’s specific requirements.

The new support arrangement for the Bombardier CRJ is similar to an agreement recently concluded with SAS Component to provide a maintenance support package for the Bombardier Q400 turboprop airliner.

Bombardier’s relationship with Lufthansa started in 1992, when Lufthansa CityLine became the European launch customer of the CRJ Series aircraft, and, only five years after, in 1997, Lufthansa CityLine took delivery of Bombardier’s 200th CRJ regional jet.

In 1997, the opening of Lufthansa Bombardier Aviation Services (LBAS), Europe's most comprehensive service centre for Bombardier business and regional aircraft, marked another milestone in Bombardier’s growing relationship with Lufthansa.

Today, Lufthansa operates or has ordered all three members of the Bombardier CRJ Series family: the CRJ200, CRJ700 and CRJ900.