Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE
Air China is on the verge of closing an agreement to lease its three Airbus A340-300s to Cathay Pacific as part of a fleet restructuring move that will also see its Boeing 777-200s removed.
Sources in China told Flight International's sister on-line service, Air Transport Intelligence, that a tentative deal had been agreed for a two-year lease on the aircraft, with two due for delivery initially. The third will follow at a later date.
Air China is keen to shed excess capacity in the face of a limited market and intense competition, and has been offering to lease its A340s and three Boeing 777-200s since earlier this year.
The airline took delivery of the first of seven longer range 777-200ERs earlier this year and is expected to retain this version for its transpacific services.
Cathay, which operates 11 A340-300s, is also understood to have held A340 lease talks with Singapore Airlines. The Hong Kong carrier declines to comment on talks with either airline, but said in August that it would accelerate new aircraft acquisitions if the current Asian economic recovery continues to gather pace.
The airline returned to profit in the first half of the year, after reporting its first full-year loss in 35 years for 1998. The airline has cut capacity since April last year, removing all Boeing 747 Classics from passenger operations.
There may also be question marks over the three A340-300s delivered late last year to Chengdu based China Southwest Airlines (CSA). The carrier recently terminated a weekly service from its base to Auckland, New Zealand, after a month. The A340s were originally assigned to Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines, but were reallocated to CSA when it declined to take the aircraft from a centrally ordered pool.
Source: Flight International
