Aviation Week's MRO 2003: Largest Aviation Maintenance Event Features Strategies and New Technologies for Rapidly Changing Commercial and Military Aircraft Industry

Business Wire, March 4, 2003

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 4, 2003

Event Includes Air Transport Association's EM&M Forum,

And MRO Latin America

Aircraft safety and the costs of maintaining aircraft in a rapidly changing aviation market -- issues that affect airlines, OEMs, suppliers and service providers in the commercial and military aerospace industry -- will be the focus of discussions and displays during AVIATION WEEK'S MRO 2003, April 15-17 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

MRO 2003, the world's largest and most important event for the global aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul industry has surpassed all expectations in the number of senior airline, OEM, military and other MRO executives giving presentations, as well as in the number of companies exhibiting at the annual show. Produced jointly by Aviation Week and the Air Transport Association, MRO 2003 has been designed to help maintenance executives in civil and military sectors identify and implement strategies to improve turntimes, cut costs and increase profitability of their hangars and facilities.

The event features Aviation Week's management-level sessions plus the Air Transport Association's 65th annual EM&M Forum. In addition, it will include the latest entry to Aviation Week's MRO series, MRO Latin America, which will debut with a full day of discussions on opportunities available in this emerging MRO market.

With the worldwide airline industry continuing to contract due to world events, airlines are increasingly turning to their maintenance providers to take the lead in best practice initiatives, and also to provide a stream of revenue through profit center development. The MRO 2003 Conference and Exhibition is aligned with those desires, and as a result this annual event is now the must-attend event for MRO industry managers.

"The global aviation industry is in flux, and the MRO segment is bearing more than its share of the burden. Cost pressures are great, and the uncertain future is forcing MRO executives to innovate while remaining flexible to cope with changing fleet mixes and service demands," said Kenneth E. Gazzola, Aviation Week Executive Vice President/Publisher. "Industry executives, their suppliers and customers attending this year's MRO Conference & Exhibition - with the added value of ATA's EM&M Forum and MRO Latin America -- will find a comprehensive one-stop business environment that is extra sensitive to the extraordinary pressures of today's rapidly changing MRO marketplace."

Additional information and online registration for MRO 2003 is available at http://www.aviationnow.com/conferences, or by calling (800) 240-7645.

In addition to over 300 exhibition spaces and displays of aircraft maintenance technologies and services, MRO 2003 will feature over 25 Airline Executive speakers and keynote addresses by:

-- Frederick Bloch, CEO, TACA International Airlines

-- Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board, Deutsche Lufthansa, AG

-- Gen. Lester Lyles, Commander, Air Force Materiel Command

-- Gen. Charles Mahan Deputy Chief of Staff, G4 (Logistics), U.S. Army

-- Nick Sabatini, FAA Associate Administrator for Regulation and Certification.

Presentations and panel discussions will be conducted by the leading companies in the aviation industry such as Boeing, Northwest Airlines, Honeywell, Delta Air Lines, Gulfstream, Rockwell Collins, Aerovias de Mexico, KLM, TACA International Airlines, Varig, Air Canada, Continental Airlines, JetBlue Airlines, Lufthansa Tecknik, GE Aircraft Engines, Pratt & Whitney, Snecma, Lockheed Martin, FedEx, Air Canada, Bombardier, TRW Aeronautical Systems, Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA), Aviation Learning, SAP, Oracle, FAA, the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Marines and Army, and many more.

MRO 2003 is produced in association with AT Kearney and Overhaul & Maintenance magazine. It is sponsored by AirLiance Materials, Avborne, Avexus, The Boeing Company, Delta TechOps, Heico Aerospace, Honeywell, SAP, Snecma Services, and United Services. It is supported by Air Canada, America West Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines.

Aviation Week Conferences & Exhibitions is the professional education and events arm of Aviation Week, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies. With nearly 50 products and services, including Overhaul & Maintenance magazine and a core audience of some 1 million professionals and enthusiasts, Aviation Week is the world's largest multimedia information and service provider to the aviation and aerospace market.

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, BusinessWeek and McGraw-Hill Education. The Corporation has more than 350 offices in 33 countries. Sales in 2002 were $4.8 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com

The Air Transport Association of America, Inc. is the trade association for the leading U.S. airlines. ATA members transport over 95 percent of all the passenger and cargo traffic in the United States.