Air Niugini has taken delivery of its first Airbus A220-300 which it is leasing from Azorra. The aircraft, bearing MSN 55388, departed from Airbus's Mirabel facility on 11 September on a ferry flight to Port Moresby with stops scheduled in Vancouver, Honolulu and Nadi. It features a special livery to mark the 50th anniversary of Papua New Guinea's independence from Australia. "The delivery represents a significant milestone in Air Niugini’s fleet modernisation programme, with eight A220-100s on direct order with Airbus and three A220-300s being leased from Azorra," Airbus states. The A220s will replace Air Niugini's ageing fleet of five Fokker 100s and four F70s which operate on domestic and some Pacific Islands services.

Fleets data shows that only three F70s and two F100s are in service, alongside three Boeing 737-800s, two 767-300ERs and one De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400. The fleet renewal is being complicated by a dispute between the carrier and the country's National Airports Corporation over how many airports in Papua New Guinea the A220s will be able to operate to. That led last month to chief executive Gary Seddon being suspended last month as the board awaits further information on the aircraft.

European manufacturer ATR plans to use one of its aircraft as a flight test bed for hybrid-electric propulsion by 2030, as the company participates in two of 12 sustainability initiatives selected and funded by the European Union's Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking following its third call for proposals. Clean Aviation has released €945 million ($1.1 billion) of funding to support 12 projects aimed at decarbonising the airline industry. ATR will lead two projects under the Ultra-Efficient Regional Aircraft (UERA) technologies category, which has been assigned €144 million of the EU funds. It will work alongside Safran and RTX subsidiaries Collins Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney Canada. Through its HERACLES (Hybrid-Electric Regional Aircraft Concept for Low EmissionS) project, the airframer will use an ATR72-600 to flight-test hybrid-electric technologies by the end of this decade. This will be carried out under Clean Aviation's DEMETRA (Demonstrator of an Electrified Modern Efficient Transport Regional Aircraft) programme. The EU's Clean Aviation JU says that the projects selected in its latest round will start at the beginning of 2026, with flight tests planned for 2028 and 2029. The EU has agreed to work with Canada as part of its PHARES (Powerplant Hybrid Application for Regional Segment) project, which has been earmarked for €69 million of funding from the bloc. This will see Pratt & Whitney Canada providing propulsion support for the hybrid-electric regional aircraft test programme. "Europe will not fly into the future with yesterday's technologies," states European commissioner for start-ups, research and innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva. "Together with trusted partners, like Canada, we set our course towards CO2 emission reductions [of] 30% – to stay competitive, secure sustainable growth and keep our industry ahead of other world regions." ATR chief executive Nathalie Tarnaud says the project is "more than a technological demonstration", noting: "By flying the world's first hybrid-electric regional aircraft by 2030, we aim to further demonstrate that sustainability and connectivity can go hand-in-hand." The 12 projects selected by Clean Aviation fall under four main areas. In addition to UERA, the EU will provide €199 million for Ultra-Efficient Short-Medium Range Aircraft technologies and €20 million for "fast track areas". A further €15 million of funding will be made available to projects dedicated to "aircraft concept integration and impact assessment", says Clean Aviation. Other companies that have been selected to participate in the latest round include Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Skylife Engineering.

WestJet will be the key customer for CAE's Alberta Training Centre of Excellence for Aviation and Aerospace in Calgary that is scheduled to open in 2028. The carrier has signed a 15-year training agreement that will offer initial and recurrent training to pilots and cabin crew for its Boeing 737 Max and NG, 787 and De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400s. The centre will have eight full-flight simulators, cabin trainers and several digital learning tools, WestJet states. The centre will also partner with Mount Royal University on research and development initiatives. "WestJet's commitment to being the first commercial airline customer at the Alberta Training Centre of Excellence is testament to our investment in our current and future WestJetters and in Calgary as an aviation hub," says WestJet chief executive Alexis von Hoensbroech. "This 15-year contract is a significant commitment that will ensure our people receive the highest standard of training for years to come, and we're very pleased to join forces with CAE, a global leader in aviation training and fellow Canadian company, to bring this project to life." The training deal follows WestJet placing an order for 60 737 Max 10s and seven 787-9s that takes its backlog with the US manufacturer to 123 aircraft.