Delta Air Lines has appointed executives Maria Black and Willie Chiang to its board. Black is the president and chief executive of Automatic Data Processing (ADP), a global technology company providing human capital management solutions, the carrier says. Before becoming president and chief executive of ADP in January 2023, Black served in various positions of increasing responsibility across the entirety of ADP's global portfolio since joining the company in 1996. She currently serves on the board of directors of ADP. Chiang is the chairman and chief executive of Plains All American Pipeline, a publicly traded master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure and provides logistics services for crude oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas. Chiang served in various leadership roles within Plains All American Pipeline and its general partner holding company Plains GP Holdings since his arrival in the company in 2015. He previously held executive roles at Occidental Petroleum Corporation and ConocoPhillips. Non-executive chair of the board David Taylor says the pair will "contribute valuable expertise to our work, enhancing the depth and range of Delta's already strong, independent and diverse board of directors."

Southwest Airlines has extended its flight schedule through 5 March 2025. The move is to allow travellers "to plan and book travel well into the new year", the airline says. "For the first time in its history, Southwest Airlines is offering an industry-standard time horizon in its bookable flight schedule, offering 300+ days of travel as part of a strategic shift to further align with travelers' expectations," it says. Southwest historically has extended its booking window by 180 to 250 days. Brook Sorem, vice-president of network planning, says the move is a "direct answer" to its loyalty programme members asking for more time to plan vacations and other leisure travel, as well as to help Southwest business customers who plan large events months in advance coordinate hotel and flight bookings. "We also are addressing a growing demand for longer-term leisure travel planning into places like Hawaii and to our international destinations," Sorem adds.

Air China has agreed to purchase 100 of the extended-range version of the Comac C919. The aircraft's basic price, comprising the airframe price, add-on features and engines equates to approximately $10.8 billion, which will be funded by self-owned cash, commercial bank loans and other financing methods, the carrier says in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange. Air China is expecting to receive the aircraft in stages between 2024 to 2031. It notes that the aircraft will help it boost capacity and renew its fleet. Fleets data shows that to date the Chinese carrier has five C919s on order and options for a further 15.