For years, the Cubans have allowed American government "hurricane hunter" planes to enter their airspace to measure storms from the air.
The air defence identification zone extends about 200 miles from the coastline, whereas air space stops 12 nautical miles from land, and officials said it is not rare for Russian planes to enter it.
But France refused and denied the plane permission to enter French airspace, Bolivian officials said.
This single-aisle plane, due to enter service in 2013, will be able to seat about 130 passengers, posing a direct challenge for the first time to the best-selling Boeing 737 and Airbus A320.
Bombardier of Canada is expected to introduce its 145-seat C-Series jet in 2012, for example, while Comac of China is developing the C919, a 190-seat plane due to enter service around 2015.Boeing forecast that the Asia-Pacific region would remain the most robust market for growth, led by China.
Now, in a stunning coup, General Electric Chairman John F. Welch has flicked his competitors away by securing an exclusive deal to supply engines for the new 777Xlong-range version of the plane, slated to enter service in the fall of 2003.
He said it is much easier for terrorists to use "forged or stolen documents and a plane ticket" to enter than risk the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean.
The last voice communication from the crew occurred at 1 19 am, and at 1 21 am the plane's transponder, which communicated with air-traffic control, was switched off, just as the plane was about to enter Vietnamese airspace over the South China Sea.
Might it not be tempting to expect Boeing's engineers and safety inspectors to have spent their time during those years ensuring the plane was ready to enter service?
