With its wet-lease of four B747- 200Fs due to expire this month, Malaysia Airlines Cargo (MASkargo) will replace four wet-leased B747-200Fs which are due to expire end-February, with a new short-term lease of three freighters. “We’re going to reduce our freighter fleet by one aircraft and we are looking at our options, with different aircraft and different packages,” said Mas kargo MD, Shahari Sulaiman. “But we are also looking at purchasing, so any lease deal would … [Read more...] about MALAYSIA: Mas kargo considering options for fleet

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has been served with a complaint by a US court over allegations of price fixing on US cargo shipments. MAS said its offices in the US were served with the complaint, which was filed by Benchmark Export Services and six other plaintiffs against MAS and 11 other defendants. “The case involves allegations of price fixing on airfreight shipping services and related surcharges,” it said, adding it was seeking legal advice in relation to the complaint. … [Read more...] about MALAYSIA: MASkargo hit by price fixing complaint in US

US prosecutors filed new charges this week in their global pursuit of the suspected Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout, dubbed the ‘Merchant of Death’. The updated indictment charges that Bout and his former business associate, Richard Chichakli – a Syrian-born American last reported to be living in Moscow - conspired to violate United Nations sanctions aimed at stopping bloody fighting in Africa by using a series of shell companies to try to purchase two planes from US … [Read more...] about THAILAND: US tightens noose on ‘Merchant of Death’

Taiwan said recently it would lift restrictions on mainland investments by domestic flat-panel and electronic chip manufacturers, the Wall Street Journal reported. At present, manufacturers from Taiwan are only allowed to carry out final assembly in the mainland, using components made elsewhere. Under the planned reforms, flatpanel makers will be able to set up an unlimited number of “fifth generation” plants – factories that are able to make smaller panels used in mobile … [Read more...] about TAIWAN: Taiwan to relax mainland tech investment curbs

Air China said recently that it would “absolutely” support a domestic challenger to Boeing and Airbus, Bloomberg reported, even as the company plans to reduce variety in its fleet and phase out certain models. The state-controlled Air China is the largest Chinese international carrier by market value and operates 200 Boeing and Airbus planes as part of its fleet. One potential beneficiary will be Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), a domestic manufacturer of … [Read more...] about CHINA: Air China will support domestic plane maker

Air China has agreed to buy 20 Airbus 320 series aircraft for delivery between 2011 and 2014. The Chinese carrier said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it would receive significant concessions on aircraft, which have a list price of US$1.63 million each. The additional aircraft will boost Air China’s capacity by 5 per cent compared with December 2009 levels. The company intends to use the new aircraft in support of its expansion plans in southwest China and planned … [Read more...] about CHINA: Air China signs deal to buy 20 A320 aircraft