Kenya Airways resumed thrice-weekly flights between Nairobi and Mozambique's capital Maputo on 19 June. The new route complements its existing service to Nampula in Mozambique, and is part of Kenya Airways' efforts to enhance intra-Africa connectivity within its broader network strategy, it says. This includes increased frequencies to New York, Paris, Lagos, Accra and Freetown.

Steven Greenaway, the chief executive of Saudi Arabian low-cost carrier Flyadeal, thinks "there is a market" for low-cost long-haul travel to the kingdom, although the airline is not currently planning new services.Speaking on the Future Flying podcast from insurer AIG, Greenaway told host John Strickland that in his view long-haul budget travel "can be done in this region" because of its two unique market segments. These are the transport of foreign workers to and from the country and the huge numbers of people who travel to Saudi Arabia for religious reasons. Greenaway describes demand from the latter as "insatiable", held back only by restrictions on visa numbers. Noting that these two segments are low-yield and high-volume, he says they are markets "we would like to target in the future". Greenaway has experience of launching budget long-haul routes from his time as chief commercial officer at Singapore-based Scoot. However, for the time being "there's plenty [of demand] in our backyard with the fleet that we have", he says. This fleet is made up of Airbus A320s, soon to be joined by A321s. This reflects that a huge swathe of the world's population, from India to southern Europe, is within a 5h flight of the kingdom. He adds that, in his view, Saudi Arabia remains underserved by low-cost airlines, the country having only relatively recently opened up to tourism and become easier for business travellers to visit. Previous efforts to run budget carriers in the country were additionally stymied by a lack of funding and price caps on certain routes, but "that's all gone now", he says, as the kingdom enacts reforms. Greenaway remains bullish on the prospects of the country's travel market, given its young population – 80% are under 40 – plus relatively high disposable incomes and rapidly developing new markets, including domestic tourism and female travellers. He notes that, for example, it would have been "unheard-of 10 years ago that a single woman wants to go shopping with her girlfriends in Dubai, but now it happens".

Air India has unveiled a three-class configuration on its newly inducted Airbus A320neos used for domestic and short-haul international routes. The carrier says it has refitted two new A320neos (VT-RTW and VT-RTZ) with eight seats in business, 24 extra legroom seats in premium economy and 132 seats in economy class. Fleets data shows that both newly-delivered jets are leased from SMBC Aviation Capital. This marks the first time that Air India has introduced premium economy class on narrowbody aircraft. Customised by seat manufacturer Collins Aerospace, the seats in all three cabins combine ergonomic contouring and a patented comfort system to offer enhanced passenger comfort. "The upgrade of the narrowbody fleet, which operates on domestic and short-haul international network, complements the upgraded widebody experience now available on our A350 fleet and new Boeing 777s, and on all other widebodies as they are refitted over the next two years," says Air India's chief executive Campbell Wilson. Air India plans to introduce the three-class configuration to its entire full service narrowbody fleet over the next year. Vistara, which Air India is set to merge with, already offers a premium economy product on its A320s and A321s, plus its long-haul focused 787-9s.