Alpine Air Express, which provides regional air cargo services throughout the Mountain Western region of the US, has acquired 25 Beechcraft 1900D aircraft and two Embraer EMB-120ERs, along with associated engines, propellers, spare parts and ground support equipment from Great Lakes Airlines.

Alpine is a portfolio company of AE Industrial Partners, LP, a private equity firm specialising in aerospace, defence and government services, power generation, and specialty industrial markets. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

"This acquisition is highly strategic for our company, significantly expanding our market presence and ability to serve our customers," says Michael Dancy, CEO of Alpine. "We are excited to grow our fleet, maintenance support and spare parts availability while also utilising our proprietary supplemental type certificate (STC) to convert these acquired Beech 1900D aircraft into our expanding cargo operations."

"We partnered with Alpine to help the company solidify and grow its leading market position providing regional air cargo transportation services," says Jon Nemo, senior partner at AEI. "This acquisition is a further testament to our strategy of building our fleet and infrastructure to meet the growing demand for regional air cargo transportation in our targeted geographies."