Alliance Reports 450-Jet Sales Agreement

New entrant manufacturer Alliance Aircraft says it has signed an agreement to sell up to 450 regional jets to Global Airlines, a proposed New York-based airline.

Alliance chief and former Fairchild official Earl Robinson says Global is the creation of Emil Bernard, whom he describes as "a New York and Los Angeles investment banker who just made an offer to buy TWA."

Global's order remains subject to the signing of a definitive contract, which will include detailed aircraft specifications, Robinson says. For now, the Global order is for 250 firm aircraft, with 200 options and 100 "rolling options."

Robinson launched Alliance last year with a plan to build a family of 70- and 90-seat regional jets, and headquartered the company at the former Pease Air Force Base near Portsmouth, New Hampshire-now the Pease International Tradeport.

Though Alliance has yet to secure financing or break ground on its factory, Robinson recently disclosed plans to add 35, 44 and 50-seat RJs to the Alliance line, in response to "an opening in the smaller RJ market we see happening around 2004."

Alliance is calling its airplane the StarLiner. SL­100, -200, and ­300 variants are planned with, respectively 35-50, 70 and 90 seats. The company plans to start delivering its 200- and 300-series aircraft in 2003, with 100-series deliveries following a year later. Robinson plans to power the larger RJs with Rolls-Royce BR700-family engines, and the smaller ones with Honeywell's AS900.

Robinson says the Global order is Alliance's third, but the other two-for at total of 15 firm and 15 optional aircraft-are "confidential."

Global plans to operate its StarLiners in the U.S. Northeast, Midwest, Western and Caribbean markets, Alliance says.

By Paul Richfield