Australia's government has cleared the way for Qatar Airways Group to buy a 25% stake in Virgin Australia from its major shareholder Bain Capital. Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced on 27 February that the Foreign Investment Review Board had approved the proposed sale, which will see Qatar become a minority shareholder in the carrier, alongside majority shareholder Bain, plus two other minority shareholders in the Virgin Group and Queensland Investment Corporation. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. The alliance between the two airlines has already received draft approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, with final approval expected by the end of April. Speaking during a press conference, Chalmers says that the approval comes with some "very strict, enforceable conditions", including that at least one of the two directors Qatar will appoint to Virgin's board must be an Australian citizen, as well as assurances to protect Australian jobs. Virgin says that the Qatar stake will provide it with "access to the scale and expertise of a world-leading global airline, strengthening its ability to compete domestically and internationally and driving increased competition in Australian aviation". Virgin chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka comments that the investment "sets us up for long-term success and adds fuel to our bold transformation agenda". As part of the deal between the two carriers, Virgin will start 28 flights per week from Sydney, Brisbane and Perth to Doha using aircraft wet-leased from Qatar in June, with Melbourne to be added from December. As part of the FIRB approval, Virgin has agreed to a three-year deadline to convert the wet-lease to a dry-lease arrangement. Virgin adds that under the wet-lease, its pilots and cabin crew will be given secondment opportunities with its partner airline, thus opening more opportunities for pilots in its core domestic and short haul operations. The deal has received broad support from airports, tourism organisations and other stakeholders. The Australian Airports Association welcomed the approval, with chief executive Simon Westaway commenting that it was "a major win for the aviation industry and the Australian flying public as it improves competition and connectivity".

ITA Airways' network will be linked with the other airlines of the Lufthansa Group through mutual codesharing. The group says over 100 new codeshare connections can be booked by both ITA Airways and the Lufthansa Group (Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Air Dolomiti) for flight dates starting with the summer 2025 schedule. With the start of the summer flight schedule on 30 March, selected ITA Airways flights will also operate under a flight number of Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines or Brussels Airlines. These are both year-round, domestic Italian connecting flights from Rome-Fiumicino and international routes from Rome to Malta, Athens, Sofia and Tirana. Initially, this new codeshare offer with ITA Airways will cover flight routes within Europe. Once the codeshare program is fully implemented, ITA Airways passengers will be able to choose from over 250 destinations offered by the Lufthansa Group. "The integration of ITA Airways as part of the Lufthansa Group is progressing rapidly and now enables far-reaching advantages in the offering for our joint customers through code sharing," states chief commercial officer of Lufthansa Group, Dieter Vranckx.

LOT Polish Airlines has posted reduced profits for 2024 on the back of heightened competition and weaker prices. The Warsaw-based carrier posted a zl806 million ($204 million) operating profit and a net result of zl689 million, a 27% decrease from zl1.1 billion in 2023. Passenger numbers rose by 700,000 to 10.7 million, as part of its ambition to reach 16.9 million in 2028. Seven Boeing 737 Max 8s, three Embraer 195 E-2s, and one first generation E195 joined it fleet over the period, bringing its total to 86 jets by end-December. It expects a further increase to 111 in 2028. LOT states that its operating margin held steady at 8.1% despite an increase in competition that drove weaker ticket prices. It attributes this to active network management, cost control and a move into the charter market. A total of 1.3 million charter passengers flew with LOT through the period, nearly a fifth more than 2023, while charter capacity rose by 11%. “LOT Polish Airlines is now larger and financially stronger,” states president Michal Fijol. “These are the foundations of our strategy, which we are consistently implementing.” Fijol was reinstated as the company’s chief executive earlier this month following an interim period in which he served as the management board’s proxy, informally leading the company. His LinkedIn profile shows that he was previously chief executive of the airline between June 2023 and December 2024. Fijol has been the chief architect behind LOT's medium-term expansion plan to expand its fleet by around half and passenger numbers by 65% between 2023 and 2028, in a bid to become the dominant full-service airline in Eastern Europe. LOT is entirely owned by the Polish government and does not publish full accounts.