TWA suspended New York-Tel Aviv services on 29 March after its local employees took court action seeking liquidation of the airline's assets in Israel. Service was halted abruptly to prevent seizure of the aircraft. Monarch Airlines has launched charter flights between London Luton and Orlando using a 374-seat Airbus A330. Jan de Rijk Logistics and KLM Cargo have launched a faster means of transporting air freight by rail by carrying fully palletised air freight on overnight express rail services between Milan and Amsterdam Schiphol. Alitalia, Meridiana, AirOne and Volare Airlines have submitted offers to the Italian Government to operate routes linking Rome and Milan with three Sardinian airports - Alghero, Olbia and Cagliari. The successful bidder will offer the services exclusively, at reduced prices in return for financial assistance from the state. There are, however, doubts that the exclusivity plan will be allowed under European Union competition rules. United Parcel Service inaugurated US-China services on 1 April. The package carrier will operate six "UPS China Express" Boeing 747 freighter flights a week to Beijing and Shanghai, four from Ontario, California, and two from New York Newark. EVA Air Cargo has introduced twice weekly flights between Taipei and Toronto. The service operates via Anchorage and New York outbound and via Anchorage on the return flight. Delta Air Lines has begun daily New York Kennedy-Tokyo Narita, Los Angeles-Nagoya and Atlanta-Buenos Aires services using Boeing MD-11s. Delta has revamped the flight schedule at its Atlanta hub into 12 connecting banks rather than 10, each with fewer flights, to improve operating efficiency. EasyJet has launched daily flights between London Gatwick and Amsterdam. American Airlines has launched daily Boeing 777 services from San Jose, California, to Paris and Taipei.
Source: Flight International
