Air Canada Signs Maintenance Agreement with Premier Aviation; Trois-Rivières Facility Employs 120 Technicians

TROIS-RIVIERES, QC, Sept. 24, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Premier Aviation and Air Canada today announced the signing of a five-year agreement for the provision of airframe maintenance in support of Air Canada's fleet of 60 Embraer E-190 and E-175 aircraft. With the addition of a second line of maintenance at Premier Aviation's Trois-Rivières, Quebec facility now in place, the work performed for Air Canada will have created a total of 120 jobs for aircraft technicians on the two lines. This contract follows a successful year of operations meeting the quality and on-time delivery requirements for 37 Air Canada Embraer E-175 and E-190 maintenance visits at Premier's Trois-Rivières maintenance centre.

"This agreement expands on and extends our long-standing relationship with Air Canada and our commitment to deliver industry leading quality, value and turnaround times," states Premier`s President and CEO, Ronnie Di Bartolo. "The signing of this contract further strengthens Premier's position as a pre-eminent player in Embraer maintenance in North America and demonstrates Premier's ability and commitment to customer-driven, value-added MRO solutions."

Air Canada's Vice President, Maintenance and Engineering, Alan Butterfield, added, "We are very pleased with the work performed by Premier Aviation on Air Canada's Embraer fleet.  This contract for additional work with Premier represents long-term investment in the Canadian MRO industry while assuring Air Canada of a quality solution for our Embraer maintenance needs through Premier's extensive network, multiple facilities and by its proven capabilities in this field."

Premier Aviation performs maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services consisting of airframe, painting and support services for Air Canada's Embraer fleet at its Trois-Rivières maintenance centre. Air Canada's Embraer fleet consists of 45 E-190 aircraft, with an additional 15 E-175 aircraft operated by Sky Regional.

About Premier Aviation

Premier Aviation is a full-service aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider, wholly-owned and operated by Ronnie Di Bartolo with over 650,000 sq. ft. of facilities in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, and Windsor, Ontario in Canada and Rome, New York in the United States.  Since its inception in 2002, the company has maintained a steady growth of clients and services in general overhaul, modifications, refurbishment, paint and line maintenance.  Premier Aviation is committed to delivering top-quality, safety performance and competitive MRO solutions to the aviation industry throughout Canada, US and internationally.

As a leading MRO provider in North America, Premier Aviation seeks highly-motivated, qualified individuals to be part of our team.  For more information on our services and capabilities, employment opportunities and more, please visit our website: www.premieraviation.ca.

About Air Canada

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 175 destinations on five continents.  Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2012 served close to 35 million customers.  Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 60 Canadian cities, 49 destinations in the United States and 67 cities in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,328 destinations in 195 countries.  Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax that ranked Air Canada in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million airline passengers as Best Airline in North America in 2013 for the fourth consecutive year.  For more information, please visit: www.aircanada.com.

SOURCE: Air Canada

Premier Aviation Overhaul Center Inc.
Dave Diggle, Vice President, Sales and Marketing
[phone] Ext. 398

Air Canada
Isabelle Arthur (Montréal)  514 422-5788
Peter Fitzpatrick (Toronto)  416 263-5576
Angela Mah (Vancouver)  604 270-5741
aircanada.com