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 purchasing. The 19-strong fleet, owned by Swissair leasing arm Flightlease, was originally due to leave the fleet between August next year and December 2006 as new Airbus A340-600s were delivered to replace them.

Although the A340 order is effectively cancelled, it is understood that the disposal of at least some of the MD-11s was still planned.

According to industry sources, FedEx, which has 36 MD-11s in service, tried to defer the Swissair acquisition earlier this year due to the slowdown in the cargo business, and the Swissair bankruptcy in October gave it the opportunity to terminate the agreement, as it was an ev

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