Embraer announced first-quarter earnings of $65.3 million on net sales of $808.3 million, down from earnings of $96.5 million on sales of $763.3 million in the 2005 period. Firm order backlog stood at 341 jets valued at $10.4 billion. Embraer still expects to meet its forecast delivery of 145 aircraft for 2006.

Aer Arann signed a contract to purchase 10 new 72-seat ATR 72-500s over the next three years. The deal is worth more than $180 million. The carrier will use the aircraft to "replace and supplement" its existing fleet of 14 ATR 42s and ATR 72s, increasing it to 20 by the end of 2009. It will take delivery of two dash 500s in 2007, five in 2008 and three in 2009. "This is a significant milestone for Aer Arann and marks a consolidation of our strategic policy in going forward with an ATR fleet," MD Padraig O'Ceidigh said.

Air One signed a deal for six 90-seat CRJ900s and four options, Bombardier announced yesterday. List price for the firm-order aircraft is $215 million. Italy's second-largest carrier operates a fleet of 30 737s but reached a deal with Airbus in January for 30 A320s plus 60 options (ATWOnline, Jan. 13).

Air New Zealand confirmed it will be the launch customer for the 787-9 following an agreement signed with Boeing last week to substitute its order for four dash 8s, as had been anticipated (ATWOnline, Feb. 3). ANZ was the second customer for the 787 after ANA. The new aircraft were purchased for $183 million each and will begin entering service in December 2010. They will be powered by Trent 1000s.

Boeing boosted the range of the 747-8 from 8,000 nm. to 8,300 nm. after the latest round of wind-tunnel testing, which included high- and low-speed lines development and fine-tuning of the noise characteristics on the fully integrated airframe. More than 3,000 hr. of wind-tunnel time have been logged to date. The recent series of four major tests ran simultaneously at three wind tunnels in Seattle--the Boeing Transonic Wind Tunnel, the Low Speed Acoustic Facility and the Nozzle Test Facility--and at the QinetiQ tunnel in Farnborough.

Bombardier announced Friday that Japan Air Commuter, part of Japan Airlines Group, ordered an 11th Q400. JAC carried 1.4 million passengers in its fiscal year ended March 31.

Frontier Airlines selected the CFM56-5B to power six new A320s scheduled for delivery between 2008 and 2010, it announced yesterday. List price for the order is $75 million. The carrier placed an order for six A320s in February and converted orders for four A319s into an additional four A320s (ATWOnline, Feb. 24). It already operates 52 CFM56-5B-powered A318s and A319s.

Turboprops are generating renewed interest from airlines just a few years after many industry players predicted their demise in the face of the invasion of regional jets, experts said yesterday during an ATWOnline webcast. Turboprops "have made a comeback," Meridian Aerospace Group President Bill Gardner said. "They've become pervasive again...I don't think operators are turning away from regional jets. I think they're revisiting whether it was a good idea to get rid of turboprops." Carriers are interested in 50/70-seaters such as the Q300 and Q400 for 60-90-min.