The home of market intelligence for
the aviation and travel industry.

Australia's Prime Minister Antony Albanese announced (10-Aug-2026) VietJet Air will commence operations to Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport (WSI) in Jan-2027. The LCC will operate twice weekly Ho Chi Minh City-Western Sydney service with 377 seat A330 aircraft, with frequency to increase to three times weekly in Mar-2027. Thai VietJet Air plans to commence four times weekly Bangkok-Western Sydney service from Nov-2027, subject to regulatory approvals. VietJet is the fifth airline to announce operations to Western Sydney, following Jetstar Airways, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Qantas Airways. Mr Albanese stated: "These new direct flights will bring our people closer together, boost tourism and trade, and create new opportunities for Western Sydney". WSI CEO Simon Hickey stated: "Vietnam is an incredibly popular destination for Aussie travellers - in 2025 alone more than half a million people travelled between New South Wales and Vietnam". He noted Western Sydney is "home to more than half of Greater Sydney's Vietnamese population - over 70,000 people - who regularly visit friends and relatives". The Ho Chi Minh City service is supported by a contribution from the NSW Government through the Western Sydney International Take-Off Fund, a AUD16 million (USD11.30 million) partnership with WSI to incentivise airlines to invest locally. [more - original PR - Australian Government] [more - original PR - Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport]

South Australian Tourism Commission reported (04-Aug-2026) Adelaide Airport handled 9.2 million passengers in the 12 months ended 30-Jun-2026, an increase of 4.8% year-on-year and the airport's "busiest year ever". International traffic increased 20% to 1.2 million passengers, with domestic and regional traffic increasing 2.8% to 7.9 million passengers. South Australian Tourism Commission attributed the performance to air service development efforts including new and resuming services from United Airlines, Qantas Airways, Cathay Pacific, Air New Zealand, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines. South Australia's Tourism Minister Emily Bourke stated: "The investment we've seen from airlines establishing and expanding routes into Adelaide is a testament to the hard work of every South Australian who makes this state somewhere people worldwide want to visit, do business with and invest in... South Australia really is more globally connected than ever before, the sky is the limit when it comes to opportunities in this state". [more - original PR]

Airbus reported (07-Aug-2026) the following commercial aircraft orders and deliveries for Jul-2026:

• Gross orders: 204 aircraft;
  • China Eastern Airlines: 25 A330-900s;
  • Hainan Airlines: 27 A320neos and 13 A321neos;
  • flynas: 20 A321neos and five A330-900s;
  • Riyadh Air: Six A350-1000s;
  • SMBC Aviation Capital: 35 A320neos and 65 A321neos;
  • Undisclosed: One A319neo, one A320neo and six A321neos;
• Deliveries: 67 aircraft to 39 customers;
  • AerCap: One A320neo (Azerbaijan Airlines), one A321neo (Hainan Airlines) and one A321neo (Thai Airways);
  • AirAsia: Two A321neos;
  • Air Arabia: Two A320neos;
  • Air Canada: One A220-300;
  • Air France: One A220-300 and one A350-900;
  • American Airlines: Three A321neos;
  • BOCOM Leasing: One A320neo (China Southern Airlines);
  • British Airways: One A320neo;
  • CALC: One A321neo (Thai Airways);
  • CDB Leasing: One A321neo (Juneyao Air);
  • China Eastern Airlines: One A320neo;
  • China Southern Airlines: Three A321neos;
  • Delta Air Lines: One A220-300 and two A321neos;
  • easyJet: One A321neo;
  • Emirates: Three A350-900s;
  • flynas: Two A320neos;
  • Frontier Airlines: One A320neo and two A321neos;
  • GGAM Borrower: Two A220-300s (Croatia Airlines);
  • Gulf Air: One A321neo;
  • IndiGo: Four A320neos and three A321neos;
  • Jet2.com: One A321neo;
  • JetBlue Airways: One A321neo;
  • Lufthansa: One A321neo;
  • NAS Aviation Services: One A321neo (Thai Airways);
  • Pegasus Airlines: One A321neo;
  • Philippine Airlines: One A350-1000;
  • Qantas Airways: One A220-300;
  • Scoot: One A321neo;
  • SMBC Aviation Capital: One A320neo (SalamAir), one A321neo (Condor) and one A321neo (KLM Royal Dutch Airlines);
  • STARLUX Airlines: One A350-1000;
  • TAP Air Portugal: Two A321neos;
  • Tigerair Taiwan: One A320neo;
  • Transavia France: One A320neo;
  • Turkish Airlines: One A321neo;
  • United Airlines: Two A321neos;
  • Viva: One A321neo;
  • Wizz Air: Two A321neos;
  • Xiamen Airlines: One A320neo;
  • Undisclosed: One A320neo. [more - original PR]

IATA Economics reported (07-Aug-2026) new generation aircraft deliver reduced fuel burn rates and CO2 emissions per block hour compared to their predecessors. The improvements translate into significant reductions in emissions intensity, particularly on a per-seat basis. Details include:

• Regional jet and narrowbody aircraft improvements often include cabin space optimisation and additional fuselage segments, which also allow for a modest increase in seating capacity. The combination of upgraded technology and increased seating capacity delivers up to 21% lower emissions per seat;
• The largest efficiency gains for widebody aircraft come from moving from four engine to twin engine configurations, delivering up to 16% lower emissions per seat, even with a reduction in seat count. A direct swap from a previous generation to a new generation widebody aircraft with comparable seating capacity can deliver emissions savings per trip of around 5% to 10%.

IATA noted that fleet renewal also delivers benefits such as reduced noise, improved passenger comfort and greater operational flexibility. However, the association added: "These improvements have stalled since 2024 because of a historic backlog in deliveries of aircraft and engines". [more - original PR]

Qatar Airways, via its official Twitter account, announced (06-Aug-2026) plans to resume services from Doha to Bahrain, Erbil and Kuwait from 08-Aug-2026, following a temporary suspension since mid Jul-2026. The airline will be the sole scheduled operator on the Doha-Erbil route, according to OAG.

easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou announced (06-Aug-2026) "Having carefully reviewed the proposal by Apollo, my family members and I have decided to support the recommended acquisition announced by the easyJet board", referring to the recommended cash acquisition by Apollo Global Management subsidiary Bidco of the entire issued and to be issued share capital of easyJet for GBP7.15 (EUR8.35) per share. Sir Stelios stated: "I am pleased with Apollo's strategic intentions for the easyJet business, which aim to create more growth", adding: "The fact that Apollo, as one of the most well-resourced and experienced institutional investors in the world, has decided to back and grow easyJet, the leading member of the easy family of brands, is testament to the strength of the easy brand and the business model of easyGroup Ltd". He clarified: "My family and I intend to remain invested as long-term major shareholders of easyJet for the next chapter in the company's journey". The LCC noted: "In aggregate, the Haji-Ioannou family concert party holds 116,065,871 easyJet shares, representing approximately 15.31% of easyJet's issued share capital" and confirmed that "the Haji-Ioannou family concert party together are the largest shareholders of easyJet and have provided irrevocable undertakings to [Bidco] to support the transaction and to elect for the unlisted share alternative in respect of their entire beneficial holdings of easyJet shares". [more - original PR]