Libya's private carrier, Buraq Air, took delivery of the first in a contingent of six Boeing 737-800s at the end of October, confirmed company spokesman Moncef Elies. He added that a second aircraft would be delivered in mid-November but did not say when he expected to receive the final four Boeings to be supplied. This is the first Boeing to be supplied to Libya in 30 years and follows the contract Buraq signed with Boeing in February 2005 for $366 million.
Things have been looking up for Buraq Air since this summer, when the European Commission removed the Libyan carrier from its blacklist of unsafe airlines, and the United States also formally lifted its restrictions on the supply of aircraft and related technology to Libya.
The airliner's general director, Captain Mohammed Bubeida, is intent on improving the airline's safety record and modernising its fleet and has plans for expansion. Earlier this summer, Bubeida told the BBC in an interview that he was hoping to open new routes, including Sudan, Egypt, and Tunisia. "With the demands now and the increase in traffic between Tunis, Cairo, and Damascus, Buraq Air will at least cover the gap," he remarked.
Other Libyan carriers have also been busy modernising their fleets. Following July's Farnborough air show, Afriqiyah Airlines penned a deal with Europe's Airbus to purchase twelve passenger jets, in a contract thought to be worth $1.7 billion at list price. Company chairman Captain Abdullah Sabri has voiced optimism that the normalisation of relations with the United States will have a major impact on Libya's aviation sector, "mainly in purchasing American equipment, and also we'll benefit from training the airlines personnel in the United States."
At the same time, a new Tripoli-based executive charter company, United Aviation, penned a deal with Canada's Bombardier for the purchase of two business jets, a Challenger 300 and a Bombardier Global 5000 jet.
The current issue of LIBYA FOCUS also includes the following
Policy focus
Wage rise prospects bigger splash than Saddam sentence
Aisha is passionate about politics
Squabbles among Qadhafi children
Mu'atassim on the rise: Remembering Brigade 77
Qadhafi seeks link to the Prophet: says his tribe is from the Ashraf
Politics and security
Abu Salim riot aftermath: mobile phones banned in prisons
Building bridges with political prisoners: Sayid Qadhafaddam
Alleged arrests in Bani Walid
Corruption scandal in the East: Muftah Muraja Dawood Suleiman
Ministers and officials to declare wealth and sources of income
Foreign medics judgment set for 19 December, children treated in France
Qadhafi wins libel case against Algeria's Ech-Chourouk newspaper
International affairs
Libya-France arms deal? The shape of a French defence package
Chad-Sudan mediation: Abdel Salam Treiki mediating for Libya
Sa'adi is back on the football team
More illegal immigrants
Energy industry
National Oil Corporation (NOC) chief Shukri Ghanem agrees to production cut
Taiwan's Chinese Petroleum Company (CPC) to benefit from closer ties?
UK ambassador Sir Vincent Fean promises visa and training assistance
British firms eager to compete in Libya - Shell, BG and BP
Stream of visitors for Ghanem: Dow Jones Chemical Co., Norsk Hydro, Occidental Petroleum, Marathon, Tatneft, and Japanese delegation
Energy in brief
Tunisian-Libyan pipeline tenders launch expected by Joint Gas
Tamoil bid hits more controversy; conspiracy theories
Business environment
Total aviation upgrade
Telecoms set for expansion
Business in brief
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© Menas Associates 2006
