Competition from a high-speed rail line has forced three Taiwanese airlines to suspend four domestic routes. Mandarin Airlines has given up flights between Taichung and Taitun, UNI Air has stopped services between Taipei and Kaohsiung, and bankrupt Far Eastern Air Transport has dropped its flights between Taipei and Tainan and between Hualien and Kaohsiung.

Qatar will become the latest country to buy the Boeing C-17 Globemaster cargo aircraft, according to a program source. Commenting earlier on the sale, Bruce Lemkin, deputy undersecretary of the U.S. Air Force for international affairs, wouldn’t identify the purchaser but said the order would be for two aircraft, with an option for two more. Meanwhile, in Washington, one proposal for even more C-17s was rebuffed by the Pentagon’s acquisition chief, John Young.

Boeing will propose that Japan help to develop an advanced version of the F-15E or F/A-18E, opening a way for the country to hone its combat aircraft skills and for the U.S. company to prolong the competitiveness of its product range. A senior Pentagon official, meanwhile, specifically endorses the F-15E Eagle as a suitable aircraft for Japan to buy while it awaits the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. One advantage is that the country could build the Eagle domestically, he says, holding out a second temptation for Japanese industry.