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Qantas said Wednesday it had taken four Boeing 737 freighter aircraft out of service while awaiting further advice from Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) about a potential defect with a part within the cabin. IAI had converted the four 737-300 planes from passenger jets to freighters for the Australian airline in 2006. Qantas operates the planes, which have an average age of 33 years, on domestic cargo routes. An IAI spokeswoman said she had no immediate comment. Qantas said the affected part is a rigid barrier at the front of the cargo cabin which is an additional safety feature separating freight from the cockpit. It was installed during the conversion from a passenger plane to a freighter, not while the aircraft was manufactured, so it is not part of the flight critical systems on the plane. A Qantas spokesman said the grounding was not expected to affect parcel deliveries in the season leading up to Christmas.<br/>

Cathay Pacific offered to take on some pilots from a financially troubled rival if it was forced to make redundancies, the Post has learned. Hong Kong’s flag carrier said it had contacted Hong Kong Airlines’ management team in recent weeks and was greeted with a positive response, as it looks to replace retiring cockpit crews and recruit pilots for future expansion. HKA narrowly avoided going out of business over the weekend, after satisfying the city’s airline licensing authority that it had raised enough cash to carry on. Chris Kempis, Cathay Pacific’s director of flight operations, revealed the offer to take on staff on the sidelines of a company event on Monday.<br/>“We approached the management of Hong Kong Airlines and said if you are looking at a system were you to make some pilots redundant we will be interested in helping you with that redundancy,” he said. “We had a direct communication with the management, not the pilots, and they said they would be interested should it occur. Luckily it hasn’t occurred.”<br/>