GREENWICH AIR PLANS 1,000 LAYOFFS
     Aircraft maintenance company Greenwich Air Services said on
 Friday it plans to cut about 1,000 jobs from Florida and Connecti-
 cut operations. The Miami-based company laid off some workers Fri-
 day, but did not say how many. Greenwich Air, bought in September
 by General Electric for $530 million, said the layoffs are part of
 an effort to consolidate product operations.
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              Lufthansa mulls starting low-cost airline
     FRANKFURT - Feb 15, 1998 09:54 a.m. EST - The management board
 of German airline Deutsche Lufthansa will discuss this week whether
 to set up a low-cost, no-frills airline, the company said on Sunday.
     German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel said in an advance copy
 of a report to be carried in its Monday edition that the company
 would decide on Tuesday whether to set up the "Lufthansa Light" air-
 line to try to stem losses on domestic routes running into hundreds
 of millions of marks.
     A Lufthansa spokeswoman confirmed the management board would
 hold discussions on a low-cost airline on Tuesday, but added that
 this was the first time it had considered the plans. She would not
 say whether a decision would be made on Tuesday.
     According to Spiegel, the low-cost airline would initially have
 14 aircraft and would cover domestic routes which did not pass
 through Lufthansa's Frankfurt and Munich hubs.
     In a second phase, 16 more aircraft would be added which would
 fly routes in Europe such as Leipzig-Paris.
     Spiegel said the aircraft would have more seats than usual, and
 servicing and repairs would be contracted out to an external company,
 to keep costs down.
     If the plans were approved, the new airline could be launched
 in October, it added.
     Airline industry analysts say the German domestic market is
 stagnating and Lufthansa is facing an increasingly fierce battle
 against carriers like Deutsche BA, the German unit of British Air-
 ways Plc, and Eurowings Luftverkerhrs AG.
     Some believe the creation of a no-frills carrier could help the
 company win back market share, but others argue the move could
 dilute Lufthansa's brand name and reputation.
 -------------------------------------------------------------------
         Boeing chief expresses confidence on Asian recovery
      KUALA LUMPUR - Feb 14, 1998 2:54 p.m. EST - The head of Boeing
 Co. said on Saturday that Asia's financial difficulties would have
 no long-term impact on the U.S. aerospace giant's business, although
 they might delay airplane deliveries over the next three years.
     Boeing chairman Phil Condit, in Kuala Lumpur to sign a joint
 venture agreement, told a news conference his trip to Asia had boo-
 sted his confidence in the region's capacity to recover from its
 financial crisis.
     "My confidence, if anything, is higher," he said after signing
 a 153 million ringgit ($40 million) agreement to set up a joint com-
 posite parts factory with Hexcel Corp, Malaysia Helicopter Services
 Bhd. and Sime Darby Bhd.
     Condit said Boeing's investment in the joint venture, which will
 make composite parts for secondary structures for Boeing commercial
 aircraft and eventually other customers, underscored the firm's com-
 mitment to Malaysia and Asia.
     "Together we can weather what is a local storm," he said.
     Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad witnessed the joint venture
 signing.
     "What is happening in Malaysia today will not last forever," he
 said, referring to the slowdown and financial turmoil that have bat-
 tered both the ringgit and local shares.
     "We can make adjustments and I am quite sure that businesses of
 a long-term nature will eventually find they not only survive but
 succeed," Mahathir said.
     "I hope the haze in the financial world as well as the other
 haze will disappear," the prime minister said, referring to smoke
 from forest fires in neighboring Indonesia last year that covered
 much of Southeast Asia in smog.
     Last month Boeing said it expected to deliver 60 fewer airplanes
 than previously forecast to Asian customers over the next three
 years due to the region's economic woes.
     Boeing said it expected the crisis mainly to affect deliveries
 of wide-body 747 and 777 jets in 1999 and 2000.
     Philippines Airlines last month moved to cancel four 747-400s
 and some analysts believe more cancellations or deferals could come
 from other regional carriers.
     Condit was asked to comment on Boeing's assessment now that he
 had visited Indonesia and Malaysia this week.
     "The visit has been very positive. Any airline must adjust to
 current traffic situations. So we may see some airplanes move just
 to adjust to the current conditions," he said.
     "But my fundamental assessment has not changed, and when we
 talked about the 60 airplanes, that was a macro look at the economic
 impact, and really was a delay over the next three years. But long
 term we don't see any diminution at all."
     The chairman of Malaysian Airline System Bhd told Reuters after
 the news conference that his airline would not cancel aircraft
 orders due to the economic slowdown.
     "Those aircraft that we have, the older aircraft that we have,
 we may be selling some of them, or maybe lease out some of them,"
 Tajudin Ramli said.
      Malaysia Helicopter Services has a 29.5 percent stake in
 national carrier Malaysian Airline.
      Each of the four joint venture partners will hold equal stakes
 in the composite parts company, called Asian Composites Manufactur-
 ing Sdn Bhd. The factory will be located on a 31-acre site in
 northern Kedah state.
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