American Airlines has accelerated its fleet retirements for the fourth time this year which will see it park five Boeing 727s and four MD-11s that were to have stayed in the fleet until 2003. The moves will take place by early next year, bringing capacity down by 1%. US Airways has retired its last McDonnell Douglas DC-9 after 34 years of service. Airborne Express has completed two aircraft sale/leaseback transactions valued at $103 million in a move to reduce debt and establish cash reserves. The deals with two multi-national companies specialising in commercial aircraft financing involve a total of five Boeing 767-200s. Both transactions allow Airborne Express to repurchase the aircraft at the end of the term.
Source: Flight International
