Bombardier Adds Two To Aviation Portfolio

Deutsche Lufthansa AG signed a firm purchase agreement for 30 CSeries model CS100 (formerly C110) Bombardier single-aisle aircraft. These aircraft will be operated by Lufthansa’s subsidiary Swiss International Air Lines Ltd. The agreement also includes options on an additional 30 CSeries.

Based on list price, the contract value for the 30 CS100 aircraft is worth approximately $1.53 billion.

Bombardier manufactures commercial aircraft and business jets, rail transportation equipment, systems and services, and is a global corporation headquartered in Canada.

In related news, Grupo Mexicana and its regional subsidiary MexicanaLink, have joined the 50 airlines that operate Bombardier's CRJ Series family of regional jets.

MexicanaLink will operate 13 previously owned CRJ200 aircraft acquired from a third party. Based in Guadalajara, the airline will start service on March 16 with two CRJ200 aircraft. MexicanaLink will initially operate several routes from Guadalajara.

Grupo Mexicana currently operates 90 larger jet aircraft serving more than 50 destinations in Mexico, North, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Europe. In 2008, they transported 11.7 million passengers.

As of January 31, 2009, Bombardier had delivered 1,527 CRJ Series regional jets, including 1,021 CRJ100/200/440 aircraft to operators worldwide.

Previously owned aircraft continue to enjoy secondary market opportunities as economical commercial airliners and corporate converted aircraft, and in service as package freighters. Bombardier Commercial Aircraft's Asset Management Group manages and re-markets the company's previously owned commercial aircraft portfolio.

Bombardier Aircraft Services (BBAS) provides business aircraft customers service and support options, including technical and pilot training at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut.



Photography courtesy Bombardier.

Convergence Partners Working On It

Yahoo Inc. has rolled out a list of partners to help the company bring the Internet and television together.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Yahoo said it has forged deals with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., LG Electronics Inc., Sony Corp., Vizio, and others.

Applications will deploy for a wide array of Web activities, such as watching videos on Google Inc.'s YouTube.com, social networking on News Corp.'s MySpace.com, tracking stocks and sports teams, buying and selling on eBay, messaging friends using Twitter, or using e-mail or other Yahoo's applications.

Yahoo, which has lagged behind larger rival Google in the Web search market, plans to finesse the technology to also sell advertising, according to a report from Reuters.

Pet Care Market Growth? You Bet.

Long ago, when working as a veterinarian technician, the idea of pet insurance was literally a joke. It was usually heard being bantered about between the front office and a pet owner who had been hit hard in the wallet by an unplanned emergency visit to the hospital.

Times have changed.

Corporate Aetna Insurance Company of Connecticut (AICC) is underwriting new policies in Alabama, District of Columbia, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, North Dakota, and Texas, according to Pets Best Insurance LLC (Pets Best). Starting December 12, 2008.

Policy holders will be automatically notified when their coverage rolls over to AICC.

"This will be a seamless transition for our existing customers and will allow us to provide more options for pet owners, including increased coverage and additional deductible levels," said Jack Stephens DVM, president of Pets Best. "In these uncertain economic times, we want pet owners to know that they don't have to deal with pet accidents and illnesses alone."

Pets Best plans reimburses owners based on a straightforward 80% of veterinary bills after the deductible. Premium rates with AICC will be based on experience by breed, pet age and the typical veterinary costs within each policy holder's local area.

There are a number of pet health insurers, including Veterinary Pet Insurance, which has been providing coverage since 1980. (One of their earliest customers was the famous TV star, Lassie; and the company has more than 1 million policy holders.)

When considering insurance coverage, as with humans, there are many factors. Do the research. Ask around, check out sites such as www.petinsurancefaq.com, which lists unbiased, clear answers to common questions.

The idea of pet insurance is nothing new. Pet owners across Europe have been buying it since the 1940s. In the United States, coverage has only been available since the early 1980s.

And the care of companion animals is a healthy and growing market.

In the U.S, humans spent $10.1 billion on pet health care in 2007, according to a recent American Pet Products Manufacturers Association survey.

That American Ingenuity? It Works

Things of beauty and quality last.

Etsy is an online marketplace "to buy and sell all things handmade." It's been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Inc., BusinessWeek, on CNN and The Martha Stewart Show

Artists and creators of nearly every stripe post images of their wares and buyers can search by color, description, browse, or even post a query for a one-of-a-kind creation that exists only in their mind.

Read about "This Handmade Life" - vignettes about the people driven to create and their environments, learn about people who live and work near where you live (there is a search option to shop local), or enjoy the beauty.

Take a look at the work of artist Nancy LaBerge Muren, who states in her profile "Light is life! There is no greater element in a painting than the light that illuminates it and defines it."

Found during an online search using the terms "horse, painting" (potential gift for a colleague), her work stands out - there is currently one print available with an equine theme.

The print is one of 150 and she describes the day as the "sun was glorious, the horse was magnificent and his owner was so proud as they got ready to perform, I call this one 'Warming Up to Show'" - available to order online.

Etsy is a business model that serves a growing market. Artists and artisans can enter the digital visual feast to find customers around the world - and encourages entrepreneurial artists and designers - wherever they create.

Such as Richmond Castano Sr., co-founder of Twin Leather, who makes bird toys. At 96, the ever-creative entrepreneur is considering Etsy as an additional venture to feature his toys, which feature colorful knobs and fruit-like growths, very much like three-dimensional art. Castano manufactures components such as leather “twisters” - a curly ribbon of vegetable-tanned leather that appeals to parrots.

From the site: The concept was conceived by Rob Kalin in 2005. A painter, carpenter, and photographer, Rob found there was no viable marketplace to exhibit and sell his creations online - other e-commerce sites having become too inundated with overstock electronics and broken appliances. Ever industrious, he, along with Chris Maguire and Haim Schoppik, designed the site, wrote the code, assembled the servers, spliced the cables, and launched Etsy on June 18, 2005 after only three sleepless months.

(Jockey and horse, from Mountain Brook storefront, on Etsy.)



Quick View: Etsy Stats
Total Members: more than 1.5 million
Total Sellers: more than 200,000

Items Currently Listed: more than 2.8 million

Total $ sold (Gross Merchandise Sales)
2005 = $166,000
2006 = $3.8 million
2007 = $26 million
2008 = $87 million (Full Year Forecast)