Australia seeks bids from private companies for next phase of search . The chosen contractor will have 300 days to cover a vast swath of ocean . Score: 6 It will be in the vicinity of an arc hundreds of kilometers long -- the area where investigators believe the aircraft ran out of fuel , about 1,000 miles off the coast of Western Australia . An Australian official says he remains `` cautiously optimistic '' the plane will be found .
Australia seeks bids from private companies for next phase of search . The chosen contractor will have 300 days to cover a vast swath of ocean . Score: 6 An Australian official says he remains `` cautiously optimistic '' the plane will be found .