United Airlines is retiring its ageing Boeing 727-200 fleet early due to increased fuel and labour costs. This year 25 aircraft are to go, about 12 months earlier than planned. United is taking up its options for 13 Airbus A319s and A320s to replace the noisy, inefficient trijets. Its remaining 727s will go by the end of 2003. The early retirements will slow capacity growth, with only a 2.5-3% increase expected next year.
Source: Flight International
Boeing 777 cargo conversion firm Mammoth Freighters has delivered a -200LR for modification to the UK-based specialist STS Aviation Services. Mammoth had reached an agreement for conversion work with STS, located in Manchester, two years ago. The pact covers cargo modification for both 777-200LRs and -300ERs. STS states that US-based ...
Airbus’s A321XLR has initially been certified with a maximum take-off weight of 97t, but the airframer is working on approval for higher weights for the twinjet. This 97t figure is the same MTOW as the XLR’s immediate predecessor, the A321LR. The airframer had originally stated – when its unveiled the ...
Investigators have determined that a Delta Air Lines Airbus A330-300 touched down short of the runway at Amsterdam, after the crew sought to mitigate a perceived risk of overrun and descended below the glideslope.
