ExpressJet announced Friday that it will retain 69 regional jets removed from its capacity purchase agreement with Continental Airlines and use them to "pursue various strategic options outside the...agreement." Continental notified its largest Regional partner in January that the aircraft--25 ERJ-145LRs and 44 ERJ-145XRs--would be taken out of the Continental Express network after the two sides failed to reach a financial agreement on their continued deployment.

Arik Air exercised a firm order for two CRJ900s, making it the first African carrier to operate the type. List price for the two aircraft is $69 million. The Lagos-based startup, which assumed the assets of the former Nigerian Airlines, plans to launch in July and also will operate three three-year-old 50-seat CRJ200s and two 737 Classics built in 1990. Arik intends to introduce service to the US, UK and Far East by 2008.

Armavia A320 carrying 105 passengers and eight crew crashed early yesterday morning into the Black Sea about 3 mi. off the Russian coast near Sochi. All 113 aboard are believed dead as the result of the accident that occurred in what Airbus called "very poor weather conditions." The Armenian airliner coming from Yerevan reportedly missed its first approach into Sochi and was making a second approach when it lost contact with air traffic control and crashed at about 2:15 a.m. local time in a driving rainstorm.

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings named William Flynn president and CEO. He will replace retiring Jeffrey Erickson on June 22. Flynn, formerly president and CEO of GeoLogistics, joins the parent of Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo at a time of transition. Spokesperson Alan Caminiti confirmed to ATWOnline that Polar will retire four 747-200Fs, a dash 100F and a dash 300F by July 1, reducing its fleet of 11 freighters to five dash 400Fs that be joined by a sixth from Atlas Air's fleet.

Frontier Airlines yesterday finalized its February deal with Airbus for six new A320s and the conversion of eight existing A319 orders into four A318s and four A320s (ATWOnline, Feb. 24). The carrier also will acquire three additional A319s from leasing companies, Airbus announced.

Jeju Air of South Korea took delivery last week of the first of five 74-seat Q400s. It holds options for an additional three Q400s.

Manufacturers of regional aircraft booked orders for nearly 300 airplanes last year, among them just a handful of jets in the 40/50-seat class. That's hardly surprising. Interest in new CRJ200s and ERJ-135s/-145s has been trending downward for the past few years. After all, with more than 1,700 in service, the industry's appetite has been pretty well satisfied.

In 1960 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the DC-3, a British aviation magazine showed a cartoon of two executives overlooking a production line of DC-3s with the caption "It's a DC-3 replacement."