Ariana Afghan to go private
In Afghanistan the government has unveiled plans to partially privatise Ariana Afghan Airlines. No timeframe has been set for the sale, which would be aimed at raising cash to help the carrier expand. Ariana currently operates seven passenger aircraft.
Dragonair buys SIA 747-400s
Hong Kong's Dragonair has bought five used Boeing 747-400s from Singapore Airlines for conversion into freighters. One will be converted by TAECO in China, while the four others will be handled by SIA Engineering in Singapore. The converted aircraft will be delivered to Dragonair between 2006 and 2008.
China Airlines adds freighters
Taiwan's China Airlines has ordered two more Boeing 747-400 freighters for delivery in 2006. The airline already operates 15 747-400Fs, comprising 13 that it owns and two that are on lease. By 2007 it will operate 21 freighters.
SIA goes non-stop to Newark
Singapore Airlines (SIA) is dropping one-stop services to Newark via Amsterdam when it launches non-stop Singapore-Newark services late in June. The non-stop services will be operated daily from 28 June using Airbus A340-500s, and SIA says the new flights will take around 18h in each direction, cutting travel time by up to 4h compared with the existing one-stop services.
Source: Airline Business
