Swiss International Air Lines took delivery of its 15th A340-300 last week. The former Air Canada aircraft joins a fleet of 24 widebodies including 10 A330-200s.

Singapore Airlines CEO Chew Choon Seng told ATWOnline last week in Cairo that SIA's five A380s are flying very reliably. "But the most important thing for us is the aircraft is very popular with our passengers. Overall A380 load factor on scheduled flights has risen up to 90%," he said. Chew said the aircraft has enabled SIA to increase capacity on certain routes for the first time in 10 years. It had not had been able to do so operating 747-400s.

Heavy noncash impairment charges and record fuel prices sent American Airlines parent AMR Corp. plunging to a $1.45 billion second-quarter net loss, reversed from a $317 million profit in the year-ago quarter. The noncash charges, announced this month (ATWOnline, July 3), comprise a $1.1 billion writedown of the value of certain aircraft and related assets and approximately $55 million in employee severance-related costs. Excluding the charges, AMR's second-quarter loss was $284 million.

In conjunction with its effort to enhance its "Beijing hub" strategy and boost domestic and international frequencies from the capital, Air China plans to order 15 777s and 30 737s. According to a CA statement released yesterday by the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the airline negotiated a deal less than the $6.3 billion list price for the 45 aircraft, which will be delivered between 2011 and 2015 and will boost its capacity by 35%. The order still requires approval from CA shareholders and the Chinese government.

Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson will run the merged DL/Northwest Airlines out of Atlanta, the carriers announced yesterday as they unveiled the senior management team for what would be the world's largest airline, saying the team will "ensure the seamless transition of Northwest's operations into Delta over the next 12-24 months."