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.

Boeing's chief executive has admitted to a panel of US senators that he has not spoken with employees that raised allegations of retaliation for blowing the whistle on safety concerns and chose not cite cases of action taken against managers that may have taken retaliatory action against those whistleblowers. Senator Richard Blumenthal, chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcomittee on Investigations, opened an 18 June hearing in Washington DC – dubbed "Boeing's broken safety culture: CEO Dave Calhoun testifies" – by disclosing that current Boeing employee Sam Mohawk has alleged that he was told by supervisors to conceal evidence from the US Federal Aviation Administration showing "that Boeing is improperly documenting, tracking, and storing parts that are damaged or otherwise out of specification, and that those parts are likely being installed on airplanes". Additionally, Mohawk alleges that speaking up about non-conforming aircraft parts has led to managers taking retaliatory measures against him. Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, also cited earlier instances of alleged retaliation against employee whistleblowers at Boeing, among them John Barnett, whose death in March has been determined to be a suicide. "After whistleblower John Barnett raised his concerns about missing parts, he reported that his supervisor called him 19 times in one day, and 21 times another day," Blumenthal told Calhoun during the 18 June hearing. "And when Barnett asked his supervisor about those calls, he was told, 'I'm going to push you until you break'. He broke." Blumenthal adds: "When whistleblower Sam Mohawk raised concerns about Boeing's concealment of non-conforming parts, he was put in charge of completing corrective action investigations with an impossible deadline, and then threatened with formal discipline, including firing." In response to a question from Blumenthal asking how he can reassure senators in the room that Boeing is going to "end this broken safety culture", Calhoun said: "I'm going to start by assuring you that I listened to the whistleblowers that appeared at your hearing. Something went wrong. And I know the sincerity of their remarks." Blumenthal subsequently asked Calhoun how many Boeing employees have been fired for violating the company's stated code banning retaliation against anyone who speaks up to report a concern. "I don't have that number on the tip of my tongue, but I know it happens – I know it," Calhoun responded. "I am happy to follow up and get you that number." Blumenthal then asked: "Who have you fired and how have they been disciplined?" Citing privacy concerns, Calhoun declined to cite specific examples of disciplinary action taken by Boeing against employees who have violated the code banning retaliation. He promised senators that he would "most certainly get back" to the subcommittee on its request for specific information about such disciplinary action. Subcommittee ranking member Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, asked Calhoun if during his time as Boeing chief executive he has spoken to whistleblowers at the company. "I have not spoken directly to the whistleblowers," Calhoun responded. Johnson then asked: "Exactly what are you doing, then, to investigate the whistleblower complaints? Do you just turn it over to your counsel?" Calhoun said that Boeing has "a team" to manage whistleblower allegations. We have an ethics hotline and a team of investigators. The most important thing in every whistleblower out of the chute is to make sure we understand the substantive issue that is being discussed." Separately, Blumenthal complained to Calhoun about "complete gobbledygook" that had been sent to the subcommittee by Boeing in response to its requests for information about the company's safety culture. Displaying a sheet showing a long block of dense copy, Blumenthal asked Calhoun: "Are you able to make sense of this?" "No sir," Calhoun said, adding: "I would describe it precisely as you did, and I can't justify, and I will most definitely follow up." Boeing announced in March that Calhoun will step down from his role at the end of 2024 amid a wider shake-up of leadership at the US airframer.