AAR Acquires Hermetic Aircraft International

WOOD DALE, Ill., /PRNewswire/ -- AAR (NYSE: AIR) announced today that it has acquired substantially all of the net assets of Hermetic Aircraft International Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON). The transaction, which closed Friday, September 29, 2000 was paid for with a combination of cash and seller provided financing. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to earnings per share within AAR's current fiscal year which ends May 31, 2001.

Hermetic, an aircraft component support company located in Long Island, New York, renamed AAR Hermetic, provides repair and distribution services to the North American aviation aftermarket on behalf of European aircraft component manufacturers. Sales were approximately $20 million during the most recent 12-month period.

"Hermetic Aircraft introduces AAR to new product support opportunities in North and South America for European OEMs," said James J. Clark, President, AAR Component Repair and Service. "Hermetic's diverse and balanced product portfolio will fit well with our existing aircraft component services operations."

"Hermetic Aircraft has an excellent industry-wide reputation for service and technology which complements AAR's. While many of the repair processes are similar, there is minimal overlap with our existing component repair capabilities," said AAR President and CEO, David P. Storch. "This acquisition fits our strategy to expand our capabilities in support of the growing Airbus platform and the regional aircraft market."

AAR CORP. (NYSE: AIR) is the preeminent provider of products and value-added services to the worldwide aerospace/aviation industry. Products and services include proprietary inventory management and logistic support services, encompassing supply, repair and manufacture 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. Further information can be found at www.aarcorp.com.

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.

SOURCE AAR CORP.

CONTACT: Dawn Kaiser of AAR CORP., Investor Relations, 630-227-2098, e-mail, dkaiser@aarcorp.com