Air France-KLM chief executive Ben Smith has vowed to make "the strongest bid we can" for TAP Air Portugal. During the group's first-quarter results call on 30 April, Smith reiterated the strategic importance of acquiring TAP, which, he said, revolved around utilising the geographical position of Lisbon to build on the carrier's routes across the South Atlantic. Smith notes that Brazil, a key destination for TAP, remains Air France-KLM's largest market in the region. "You know, the way we view Latin America has not changed whatsoever," he says. Non-binding offers for TAP were submitted by Air France-KLM and Lufthansa Group at the start of the month. Binding offers are set to be tabled over the coming weeks. Smith confirms that the two groups are the only bidders. He appeared to question some of the previously stated terms of the sale, which have deterred other parties from seeking a position. Asked whether Air France-KLM was content with being restricted to a minority stake in TAP, he responded: "Let's say we cannot say anything about that at this moment. We know what are the conditions from the Portuguese state, and that is the 45% which is for sale… and we are in discussions with the Portuguese state [on] how we get back to that." European airline group IAG said on 7 April that it had withdrawn from the TAP process because "we need a route to full ownership in order to be able to manage and transform the business". The Portuguese government has said it is seeking a buyer for 44.9% of TAP, with the state retaining a majority stake for an initial period. Five percent of shares would be reserved for its employees. Air France-KLM finance chief Steven Zaat adds that the group now plans to do detailed due diligence on TAP before pressing ahead with its bid, covering both the carrier's finances and the legal implications of securing a stake. "That is what we are going to put in place in the coming period. Then we come most likely with a binding offer at the end of July, at the beginning of August," he says.

Spirit Airlines has ceased its operations, after having filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection twice within a 10-month, most recently in August 2025. The Dania Beach, Florida-based airline – which on 13 March filed with the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York a restructuring support agreement and reorganisation plan – had intended to emerge from Chapter 11 restructuring in the late spring or early summer. Its shutdown comes amid a worldwide spike in the price of jet fuel following the 28 February launch of military strikes against Iran by the USA and Israel. The US carrier says it is "with great disappointment" that on 2 May it "started an orderly wind-down of our operations, effective immediately". It has notified its customers that "all flights have been cancelled, and customer service is no longer available". It adds: "We are proud of the impact of our ultra-low-cost model on the industry over the last 34 years and had hoped to serve our guests for many years to come." Rival US carriers United, American, Delta, Southwest and JetBlue have stepped in to offer "rescue fares" – which have capped prices – to Spirit customers whose flights have been cancelled. At the end of 2025, Spirit's workforce comprised 1,935 pilots, 3,096 flight attendants, 60 dispatchers, 289 ramp service agents, 249 passenger service agents, 410 aircraft maintenance technicians and 1,443 non-unionised personnel, the carrier says in its annual report filed on 16 March with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. It adds in the SEC filing that the company was founded in 1964 as Michigan-based Clippert Trucking Company. It began air charter operations in 1990, and in 1992 renamed itself Spirit Airlines. It relocated its headquarter to Miramar, Florida in 1999, and to Dania Beach in 2024. Spirit's fleet comprises 172 aircraft, all but 48 of which are leased.

Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury foresees no need to increase A320neo-family aircraft production beyond 75 jets a month, instead prioritising a stable production rate for a "long" time. During an earnings call on 28 April, Faury responded "never say never" to a question about the possibility of further production increases, but adds that “we are not at that point in time, and that's not the current thinking at Airbus." He states that the plan is to "go to Rate 75 and then we deliver the backlog at Rate 75". Faury highlights investments by the airframer and suppliers to increase production capacity and support Rate 75 "in a stable manner". Last year, Airbus opened additional assembly lines at its plants in Tianjin in China and Mobile, Alabama. At its Toulouse headquarters, the airframer established a new single-aisle assembly line in its former A380 production facility and is in the process of building a second there, as its two legacy single-aisle lines in Toulouse cannot produce A321s. "[It’s] time for us to harvest all the investments, because we are much more efficient when we are stable at a given rate than when we ramp up," Faury says, adding: "As soon as we reach the 75, we stabilize and we keep [it], ideally in our perspective, a lot of years." Airbus had a previous target of reaching Rate 75 in 2025 but repeatedly pushed back the ramp-up schedule amid persistent supply-chain shortages. In February 2026, the airframer said that it expected to "reach a rate of between 70 and 75 aircraft a month by the end of 2027, stabilising at Rate 75 thereafter". It attributed the latest delay to a decision by Pratt & Whitney to provide more spare engines to airlines affected by the GTF inspection programme and fewer engines than previously foreseen to Airbus's assembly lines. The airframer previously studied the possibility of reaching Rate 100 as part of its "Wing of Tomorrow" programme to explore design and manufacturing technologies for a next-generation single-aisle wing.