Joy Air was expected to start formal operations over the weekend with a fleet of three Chinese-produced MA60 regional aircraft. The official launch of the Xi'an-based carrier comes after a one-month trial period. It is expected to introduce three more MA60s by year end and plans to acquire 50 of the type, plus 50 ARJ21s, over the next eight years.

Airlines PNG DH6-300 Twin Otter wreckage from Tuesday's crash was located yesterday at an altitude of 5,500 ft. in the Kokoda area of Papua New Guinea, according to a statement on the carrier's website. All 13 passengers and crewmembers were killed in the accident (ATWOnline, Aug. 12).

Afriqiyah Airways took delivery of its first new A330-200, one of three of the type ordered in 2006. The aircraft features a 230-seat dual-class configuration and will be deployed on long-haul operations on routes from Tripoli to Africa and Europe.

Bombardier Aerospace announced the termination of its firm purchase agreement with Italy's MyAir, which suspended operations last month (ATWOnline, July 24). The original 2006 order was for 19 CRJ900s, 15 of which were converted to CRJ1000s in early 2007. Four CRJ900s have been delivered. Bombardier said the CRJ1000 development program "continues to move ahead" and that the first production aircraft is flying from its Wichita test base.

AirAsia will defer delivery of eight A320s scheduled to arrive next year to January-August 2014 without penalty. It still plans to take 16 new aircraft next year. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the LCC said it has until Oct. 31 to defer eight more aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2011 to 2014. It said it expects "infrastructural constraints with the current airport facilities" that will not be remedied until a low-cost terminal is built at Kuala Lumpur (ATWOnline, March 13).