In a message dated 12/10/2003 6:20:46 PM Pacific Standard Time, yul@xxxxxxxxxxx writes: << don't believe it. I thought that they were trying to get rid of their larger a/c because they had a hard time filling them and their present debt situation means that those beautiful birds are basically draining them? I'd be very surprised if this were true, but this business is full of surprises! >> Well, there are two reasons for the planes. They are much cheaper right now than the newer A340s, and have longer range then anything in the AC fleet. Also, they can carry a crapload of cargo, which AC does well on.