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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 1700.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT FLEET RENEWAL DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW / LONDON Royal Jordanian ditches 737 order plan in favour of A320 Middle Eastern carrier shocks Boeing by opting for more Airbus twinjets on lease Royal Jordanian has shocked Boeing by doing a u-turn on the planned replacement of its Airbus A320 fleet with Boeing Next Generation 737s, and will instead acquire new A320s and A321s on lease. In June, the Amman-based air line reached a "preliminary deci sion to enter into negotiations with Boeing" to take five 737-800s from September next year. These were to be followed by up to five more of the type, with the intention of using them to replace its five A320s, as well as its remaining A310 wide- bodies as part of its 2004-2008 strategic plan. However, the deci sion was reversed after a 31 August deadline to seal a final deal with Boeing passed without agreement. "These negotiations were subject to reaching a satisfactory agree ment by 31 August - and we didn't make the agreement in this time," says Royal Jordanian. The decision by the all-Airbus operator to drop plans for a switch to the 737 will be a blow for Boeing, because it would have been an important gain for the US man ufacturer in the Middle East. The airline declines to explain the reason for failing to reach a deal with Boeing, saying only that its board of directors decided "at a meeting on 1 September and after reviewing all aircraft manufacturers' business offers and the economic performance of the different scenar ios, to replace the current A310 and A320 fleet with new A320 and A321s through operating lease". Royal Jordanian will take "nine or 10" A320/A321s, but has yet to decide on the split, "ft is not clear whether the [management] will change the delivery date [from that of the 737s]," says the airline, but adds that the carrier's talks to finalise a deal with Airbus - includ ing matters such as configuration of the aircraft - are not expected to take long to complete. No engine decision has been revealed, although the carrier's existing A320 fleet is powered by the CFM International CFM56. services Bangkok Airways will use its new A320s to launch longer-range international EXPANSION LEITHEN FRANCIS & BRENDAN SOBIE /,,SINGAPORE Bangkok Airways takes first Airbus Thai carrier Bangkok Airways has received the first of at least three Airbus A320s, but plans to continue to expand its fleet of Boeing 717s. The carrier selected the A320 over the 737 late last year and leased two aircraft from Debis AirFinance. Bangkok Airways says it has just signed a contract with Debis for a third A320 for delivery in August 2005 and is looking to lease a fourth for delivery by the end of 2005. The carrier says it is also looking to lease a fifth 717-200 from next year. The 717s and its fleet of nine ATR 72s will continue to be used to operate into Koh Samui - where it owns an airport that is too small to accommodate ,A320s - and other domestic markets. The A320s will be used to launch new longer-range international services to China and the Maldives. The first A320 was scheduled to arrive in Bangkok on 14 September. The second aircraft will be delivered in November. Meanwhile, Orient Thai Airlines says it is looking to add, by year- end, three Boeing 747-200/300s for international services and two 757- 200s for its new domestic low-fare subsidiary One-Two-Go. Orient Thai now operates four 757-2O0s, two of which it added in late July, and eight 747-20O/30Os. The carrier plans to resume services to Singa pore early next month and launch flights to Kuala Lumpur and Macau. Thai Airways International low- cost affiliate Nok Air says it will add a third 737-400 in mid-October. Nok, which wet-leases all its aircraft from Thai, also plans to wet-lease its fourth and fifth 737-400s in the first quarter of next year. The additional aircraft will allow Nok, which launched in late July, to double its domestic network from the current four destinations to eight. COST CUTTING Delta Air Lines to shed 7,000 jobs Gerald Grinstein, who took over as chief executive of Delta Air Lines in January, says the carrier will cut up to 7,000 jobs over the next 18 months in a restructuring aimed at saving $5 billion in annual costs by 2006, writes David Field in Atlanta. Grinstein warns that filing for bankruptcy protection is still "a real possibility" in his strongest statement yet on prospects for a court-protected restructuring. Grinstein says the plan, includ ing shutting one of its four hubs -Dallas/Fort Worth-the retirement of up to four aircraft types, and a massive debt restructuring, will continue in or out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The immediate crisis stems from the Delta pilots' union. The Air Line Pilots Association, which has yet to agree to $1 billion a year in wage concessions, must address the senior pilot retain- ment rate, as around 2,000 of Delta's 6,900 pilots are eligible to retire early. Delta hopes to resolve the situation next month, as well as other issues, such as creditors' negotiations. "If all of the pieces don't come together in the near term, we will have to restructure through the courts," says Grinstein. The retirement trend could ground some Boeing 767-300/300ER and 777 opera tions, he adds. At its Dallas/Fort Worth hub, flights will fall from 254 a day to 21, but Delta will build up Atlanta Hartsfield, making it "a continu ous hub" by lowering hourly operations from about 80 to 66, but increasing daily total flights from 970 to 1,051 by February. By then it will have determined which aircraft types to retire, but Grinstein says that the 737-200, of which it has 52, is the most likely to go. JP Morgan credit ana lyst Mark Streeter says Delta's 26 Boeing 737-300s, its 16 MD-90s -which have no commonality with its 120 MD-88s - and all 21 of its 767-400ERs, are the "lead extinction candidates". www.fliqhtinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATI ONAL 14-20 SEPTEMBER 2004 9
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