Crossair has terminated plans for a major in-flight telephone order as the regional airline reconsiders its long-term fleet strategy.
The airline, which flies a mix of Saab 340s, 2000s, Aero International (Regional) Avro RJ85s/ 100s and McDonnell Douglas (MDC) MD-80s, had been poised to conclude a deal with Irish telephone-system service provider Jetphone, for a fleetwide contract worth an estimated $1.5-2 million.
Josef Felder, Crossair's vice-president of product management, says that the plans have now been cancelled as the airline did not want to enter a long-term and expensive cabin equipment contract when it had not established its fleet plans.
"When we entered into detailed negotiations with Jetphone we realised that it was going to cost a lot of money and we had to commit to a ten-year contract," says Felder. "We couldn't do anything shorter than five to six years, and the investment was too risky as we have not decided our long-term fleet strategy at the moment," he adds.
Felder says that the MD-80s, inherited from Swissair in 1995 as part of a revamp of the national airline's short-haul operations, are getting old, while the airline is also examining its fleet structure, which now includes four different aircraft types. "The MD-80s were refurbished only two years ago, and will probably not be replaced for at least two or three years," says Felder. He adds that aircraft such as the MDC MD-90 and MD-95, and members of the Airbus A320 family, are potential candidates.
Crossair began talking to Jetphone when its original planned supplier FlightLink was closed down by its parent, Cable & Wireless, early this year. Felder says that, for the moment, the airline has cancelled plans to install in-flight telephones, and points out that technology could eventually enable passengers to use their own mobile telephones on board.
Source: Flight International
