MAX KINGSLEY-JONES / LONDON
FedEx Express has U-turned on an agreement to purchase Swissair’s entire Boeing MD-11 fleet as part of efforts to rein-in capacity growth.
The US express parcel operator agreed in 1998 to acquire Swissair’s 15 Pratt Whitney PW4000-powered MD-11s, as well as four LTU aircraft that the Swiss carrier was […]

KIERAN DALY / PARIS
Thales dismisses idea as “feasible” but “inadvisable”
European avionics leader Thales has come down firmly against the concept of controlling aircraft from the ground in the event of a hijacking, calling it “feasible” but “inadvisable”.
The notion has gained ground in the wake of 11 September’s US terror […]

PAUL LEWIS / WASHINGTON DC
Manufacturer responds to cancellations and delivery deferrals by working with customers to place unwanted aircraft
Boeing is forging joint marketing agreements with key customer airlines to place surplus aircraft, as the number of order cancellations and delivery deferrals continues to mount in the face of a severe downturn in traffic […]

In-flight entertainment (IFE) system manufacturer Matsushita Avionics Systems (MAS) is using the video and broadcast technology expertise of its parent Panasonic to extend its business to in-flight security products.
The move comes as revenues in MAS’ core IFE hardware business are expected to fall as airlines defer and cancel aircraft deliveries after the US […]

DAVID LEARMOUNT / LONDON
US transport safety body says A300-600’s in-flight recorders reveal accident was not the result of a single event
Almost everything that happened to seal the fate of American Airlines’ flight AA587 appears to have taken place within 8s of the Airbus A300-600R’s second encounter with a wake vortex, according to the […]