GREENWICH, Conn./LINDAU, Switzerland – (November 18, 2002) – Airship Management Services, Inc. of Greenwich, Conn., and Skyship Cruise Ltd. of Lindau, Switzerland, today announced formation of a joint venture, Skycruiser Corp. which has acquired control of the Type Certificates for the Skyship and Sentinel series of airships.

"Skycruiser Corp. is now well-positioned for marketing large airships, specifically the Skyship 500, Skyship 600 and Sentinel 1000," said Christian Schulthess, chief executive of Skyship Cruise, Ltd.

"These airships serve a growing variety of customers in commercial advertising, passenger flying, broadcasting and security applications," said George A. Spyrou, president of Airship Management Services and Skycruiser Corp. "Examples include longstanding advertising arrangements such as the FujiFilm airship; passenger carrying airships such as Skycruise Switzerland’s operation near Zurich and Geneva started in 2002, and military and security applications such as our contract with STI Aviation’s LASH program for the Office of Naval Research."

"Taking over these Type certificates is an important step toward improving technical support, reducing associated costs, and building up manufacturing capabilities," Spyrou added. "Most importantly, the type rights serve as a basis for the development of new and larger airships."

The Skyship 500 and Skyship 600 series are the largest and most comfortable passenger-carrying airships in the worldwide, offering a spacious cabin with lots of headroom, windows that open in flight, first class seating, a galley to serve drinks and food, and even a toilet. They have the highest rated payload capacity available today and have proven their reliability all over the world.

Skyship 600 airships, 197 feet (60 m) long, with a volume of 254,000 cubic feet (7,200 cubic meters), are filled with non-flammable helium and are certified to carry up to 13 passengers plus a Captain and Co-Pilot. They have a cruising speed of 40 mph (65 km/h), a ceiling up to 10,000 feet and a range up to 400 miles.

The Sentinel 1000 airship FAA Type Certificate is for a 222-foot (68 m) long airship with a volume of 353,000 cubic feet (10,000 cubic meters). Westinghouse Airship Industries (a predecessor company) constructed the first Sentinel 1000 in 1994. In that airship, numerous trials were conducted for U.S. military customers. The Sentinel 1000 is capable of a cruising speed of 62 mph (100 km/h), can operate at a ceiling up to 10,000 feet, and has a total disposable load of nearly three tons.

Skycruiser Corp., a joint venture between Airship Management Services and Skyship Cruise Ltd., maintains its principal office in Greenwich, Conn., with other offices in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Greece and Japan, and a technical facility in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The company focuses on the development and manufacture of large-scale airships throughout the world.

Airship Management Services, affiliated with Nissho Iwai American Corp., is the most experienced company in operating the world’s largest airships and through associated companies provides technical and operational support to airships worldwide. AMS operates a maintenance facility and FAA repair station at Skycruiser Corp.’s base in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. AMS personnel have been in the business of providing flight crew; technical expertise and ground support to airships since 1980 and have operated airships in Japan, Korea, Australia, the U.K., U.S.A., Canada, Germany and France. All crew are fully licensed by the relevant civil aviation authorities.

Skyship Cruise, Ltd., founded in 1996 and based in Switzerland operates a Skyship 600 adapted to passenger requirements, and focuses on worldwide advertising contracts. Skyship Cruise Ltd. conducts passenger flights in the summer and fall seasons (Skycruise Switzerland AG), and provides airships for commercial advertisers throughout and beyond Europe.