Mr Koehler forecasts that carriers such as easyJet and its arch-rival, Ryanair, will increase their share of the European short-haul and medium-haul market from 11% today to 28% in 2010.

ECONOMIST: EasyJet

The result is a new market for in-flight entertainment, both for small airlines with older planes, and for short- or medium-haul planes that make up roughly three quarters of commercial airplanes.

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Virgin Atlantic had also expressed an interest, hoping to integrate bmi's short- and medium-haul routes in Europe, the Middle East and Africa with its own transatlantic routes to form a strong, Heathrow-based hub-and-spoke network.

ECONOMIST: Business travel

So does Bombardier: the aircraft it would like to sell to Felix, and to airlines the world over, is the CSeries (pictured), a larger medium-haul jet that will take the planemaker into a bigger and potentially more profitable market, putting it in direct competition with Boeing and Airbus.

ECONOMIST: Business travel

Singapore Airlines said the orders will also help maintain its strategy of keeping a young and modern fleet, with the A350s ultimately replacing older Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 jets on medium- and long-haul routes.

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