Scandinavian Airlines System has entered into an agreement with Sunrise Asset Management to sell 13 MD82/83/87 aircraft and an additional 12 spare engines. The order is valued at about $20 million and delivery of the aircraft and engines is ongoing and will be completed in Feb. 2013. SAS is phasing out its MD-80 fleet and replacing them with Boeing 737NG and Airbus A320s.

Sherwin-Williams has announced its aerospace coatings training program for 2012, which will be held in Andover, Ks. The two-day training sessions will now include work with the SkyScapes basecoat/clearcoat paint system and focus on trends in surface pre-treatments, primer systems and topcoats. The classes are designed for all levels of paint shop personnel and conducted in a training center with electrostatic guns. The cost of the class is $229 per person, including materials, safety equipment and a training certificate.

The Aviation Suppliers Association welcomed Sheri Murray, Air Parts & Supply Co. president and CEO, as a new member of its board of directors. Greg McGowan, Boeing Commercial Airplanes quality leader of product support engineering, returns as a member of the board. Jimmy Wu, Infinity Air president and CEO, also returns.

Prime Turbines has hired Robert Coleman as a sales and service manager for Alaska and the West Coast. Coleman comes to the position after working as a regional sales manager with Dallas Airmotive for 12 years.

With the Legacy 650, Embraer introduces an able entry to the long-range ....

Air Lease Corp. is in talks with Boeing about the re-engining plan for the 737NG, but has questions about whether the aircraft can be competitive with the rival Airbus A320NEO (new engine option).

Brazil’s finance ministry has granted its approval of Grupo TAM’s proposed merger with Chile’s LAN Airlines. The backing from the Treasury Department’s Secretaria de Acompanhamento Economico, while noting there are overlaps on three passenger and 10 cargo routes, says the merger should be approved without restrictions because the airline industry is sufficiently competitive to assure the airlines will not dominate the sector.

Canada and Costa Rica have tentatively approved an open skies accord to replace a bilateral air services agreement from 1996. The deal, which must still be ratified by both countries, follows open skies agreements Canada has signed with Brazil and Mexico (Aviation Daily, Aug. 11).