Swissair says that it expects to make a decision on the long-term future of its 747-300 ßeet by the year-end. The Ìve aircraft (two 396-seat -300s and three 265-seat -300 Combis) were delivered during 1982-7, and the new 372-seat A340-600 is being evaluated, as are Boeing's 747-400 and 777-300.
The size and delivery schedule of the order will depend on the aircraft selected, and its availability: "If it is the A340-600 or 777-300X then deliveries cannot begin until 2001-2002," says Swissair. The airline has a large ßeet of Airbus A320-family models, and is a launch customer for the new long-range A330-200.
Lufthansa, which is a major Airbus customer and operates 16 A340-200/300s, conÌrms that it is considering the -600 to replace its ßeet of eight 10-20-year-old 747-200/200 Combis, but says that an order decision "is not imminent". It is likely that the airline is also keeping a watching eye on Boeing's 777 developments.
Airbus announced the provisional go-ahead of the $2.5 billion, Rolls-Royce Trent 500-powered A340-500 and -600 at the Paris air show in June. The consortium is seeking a "signiÌcant" number of orders for the aircraft to enable a full launch to be made during the fourth quarter of 1997. Virgin and Air Canada have both placed commitments for the new models.o
Source: Flight International
