UK company European Aviation (EA) has agreed to a deal with Etihad Airways to buy 10 of the Abu Dhabi airline’s recently retired Airbus A340s. EA, based at Bournemouth on the south coast of England, is involved in a wide range of aviation activities, including engineering support, cabin interiors, plus aircraft sales and leasing. The company has bought seven A340-600s and three -500s from Etihad, which have been stored in Teruel, Spain, since their retirement last year. Two of the aircraft have already arrived at EA’s Bournemouth base; the third is scheduled for March and the rest will come throughout 2018. Although the four-engined A340 is rapidly disappearing from mainline airline service, having been largely replaced by more efficient “big twins,” EA MD Trevor Whetter said: “We plan to get the aircraft back in the air again. We see all of them going back into service.” Whetter said two may be converted into executive layouts—typically with 100 business-class, lie-flat seats. This type of configuration is popular with organizations, such as major soccer teams or private travel clubs that stage round-the-world trips. Some cruise lines also use such aircraft to ferry passengers to embarkation ports. Alternatively, Whetter said the aircraft might be used by secondary airlines as a means of catapulting themselves into the top league of carriers.<br/>