Air Seychelles has signed a 10-year lease deal with ILFC for a General Electric CF6-80C2-powered Boeing 767-300ER, for delivery in April 2001. Swiss charter carrier Edelweiss Air has agreed to lease a new Airbus A330-200 from CIT Group from the fourth quarter of 2000. The Rolls-Royce Trent 772B-powered A330-200 is expected to be Edelweiss Air's first widebodied aircraft. An Air Niugini plan to wet-lease a Boeing 737-500 from Ansett Worldwide for two years has lapsed when the aircraft went to another carrier. The airline seeks a similar arrangement to replace a BAE Systems Avro RJ-70 leased from Adelaide based National JetSystems. An airline source says Air Niugini would initially operate the aircraft on a wet lease basis, but would later transfer it to the company's air operator certificate. Iranian carrier Mahan Air is reported to be acquiring three ex-Thai International Airbus A300B4 freighters (including a convertible) from AR Aviation early in 2000. The two full freighters have been converted by BAE Systems. C-S Aviation has sold two Maersk Air Fokker 50 turboprops to Elmo Ventures on behalf of QIP Aviation. Air Botswana has leased three ATR 42-500s from Air Littoral. The aircraft will be used to rebuild its fleet, following its destruction in October when a pilot deliberately crashed one of the airline's ATRs into the others.
Source: Flight International
