WOOD DALE, ILLINOIS (June 4, 2003) - AAR (NYSE: AIR) is proud to announce a joint partnership with Alitalia Engineering & Maintenance (E&M) offering comprehensive support of the B-737 aircraft on the "One Stop Shop " concept, effective June 1, 2003. This alliance will assist airlines in reducing operational costs, inventory levels and streamlining suppliers.

This partnership is based on AAR's B-737 component expertise in the field of repairs and logistics in its Amsterdam facilities as well as supporting its overall presence of MRO in Europe, Middle East and Africa. In addition, it gives Alitalia E&M customers the benefit of a wide component repair capability, access to a large and complete stock of components, and the option to choose among different profitable pooling arrangements.

"We are pleased with this new alliance with Alitalia E&M; it is part of our strategy to reinforce and expand our MRO presence in Europe, " said Jean-Philippe Schumacher, Vice President Marketing and Business Development for Europe, Middle East & Africa. "Throughout this partnership, which closely combines our industrial capabilities, resources and individual expertise, we are able to offer B737 operators nose-to-tail support to cover all aspects of maintenance such as airframe checks and engineering; inventory management; APUs, wheels & brakes, landing gears and components maintenance services; and allow for price competitiveness and efficient logistics."

Alitalia E&M is one of the six business units created within the new re-organization of Alitalia Group including both Alitalia Technical Operations in Rome, and Atitech in Naples. With its active experience of more than 30 years in the market, Alitalia E&M Division, an FAA JAR 145 approved MRO station, spreads its capability from W/B aircraft, such as MD-11, DC-10 and B-767 to N/B aircraft, MD-80, MD-90, A-320 Family and B-737, for which the whole spectrum of services is offered, with highly customized contractual options from straight airframe checks to full fleet support.

AAR is the leading provider of aftermarket support to the worldwide aviation/aerospace industry. Products and services include customized inventory management and logistics programs, encompassing supply, repair and manufacturing of spare parts and systems. Headquartered in Wood Dale, Illinois, AAR serves commercial and government aircraft fleet operators and independent service customers throughout the world.

This press release contains certain statements relating to future results, which are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on beliefs of Company management as well as assumptions and estimates based on information currently available to the Company, and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated, depending on a variety of factors, including: implementation of information technology systems, integration of acquisitions, marketplace competition, economic and aviation/aerospace market stability and Company profitability. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize adversely, or should underlying assumptions or estimates prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described.