Allegiant Air has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the debt financing of 11 Boeing 737 Max 8s delivering in 2026. The 16 January RFP asks for proposals to be submitted by 17 February, and Allegiant plans to award mandates and move to the term sheet stage in March. The second quarter of 2026 is earmarked for finalizing and executing documentation. The airline does not expect to invite second round bids for this RFP. One of the 737 Max 8s is scheduled to deliver in 2026's first quarter, three in its second quarter, one in its third quarter and six in its fourth quarter.

A combination of rebounding demand and constrained fleet growth will support the airline industry's profitability this year, lessor Avolon predicts in its latest annual outlook. This will be aided by lower fuel costs, with falling kerosene prices having driven financial performance in 2025. Fuel expenses fell by $8 billion in 2025 compared with the previous year, accounting for a large chunk of carriers' profitability. Airlines continue to grapple with rising non‑fuel costs such as labour and maintenance inflation, but capacity constraints stemming from aircraft delivery delays and engine‑related groundings have kept supply tight, pushing yields higher, notes Avolon. It cites IATA's expectations that airline profitability will hit $41 billion in 2026, marking its fourth consecutive year in positive territory. This puts airlines on track to recoup more than 80% of the $182 billion in losses they accumulated during the pandemic years. The leasing giant highlights the ongoing divergence in performance between airline business models. Strong premium and long‑haul demand is bolstering major US network carriers, while European low‑cost carriers continue to expand their dominance of intra‑regional capacity. Meanwhile, Middle Eastern carriers are delivering record profits, but Asian markets face uneven recoveries given sharp demographic declines in some countries. Avolon foresees that reduced fleet growth, low fuel prices and robust travel demand will continue to support further credit upgrades for airlines, many of which have already shown balance‑sheet improvement. "Leverage is reducing as global airlines' net debt has dropped by more than $100 billion since its peak in 2020," notes the lessor. However, operational challenges, particularly a persistent wave of aircraft groundings caused by engine issues, remain a drag on efficiency. These disruptions are set to continue into late this decade, but the number of grounded aircraft should begin to decline in 2026 as engine manufacturers ramp up shop‑visit capacity and introduce upgrades. Avolon observes also that the market value of two full-life engines now represents around 80% of a new aircraft, and that by the time it reaches six years of age "two full-life engines are worth more off-wing than on-wing". The effect of high engine costs, significant aircraft groundings and a shortage of spare engines is a trend towards the part-out of young aircraft. "This dynamic will only act to prolong the undersupply of new aircraft," adds Avolon. Despite lingering headwinds, the report concludes that the industry's structural resilience, solid travel demand and favourable fuel backdrop position airlines for another profitable year, even with global growth moderating as the recovery from the pandemic fades.

Spanish carrier Air Europa is scheduled to receive the first of 20 Airbus A350-900s in 2028 under its recently finalised order with the airframer. At the Dubai air show in November, the two parties had disclosed a memorandum of understanding for acquisition of up to 40 A350-900s. Air Europa confirms the order was signed in December and still spans "up to 40" aircraft. It states that it "will take delivery of the first 20 A350s from 2028, as part of the collaboration agreement signed with Airbus". Airbus's backlog data lists Air Europa as having 20 A350-900s on order at 31 December. Air Europa describes the order as a "key step in the renewal of our long-haul fleet", adding that the new aircraft "will coexist with current models for the coming years". Fleet data shows that Air Europa's long-haul fleet spans 28 Boeing 787s (17 787-9s and 11 -8s). It also has 26 737-800s and four Max 8s and has another 24 Max 8s on order. It wet-leases a single A330-900 from Iberojet. Air Europa opted for Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines to power its 787s. All A350s are equipped with Trent XWBs.