JetBlue Airways has appointed Dave Clark as its new head of finance and strategy. Clark will be responsible for financial planning and analysis, strategy and business development, as well as investor relations, JetBlue says. He will report to chief financial officer Ursula Hurley. According to a profile on JetBlue's website and his LinkedIn profile, Clark's current role at the company is head of revenue and planning. In the same 18 April announcement, JetBlue also said that Daniel Shurz has been named its new head of revenue, network, and enterprise planning. Over the past 20 years, Shurz has served as vice-president, network planning for Air Canada and senior vice-president, commercial for Frontier Airlines, and held strategy and business development roles at both carriers, according to JetBlue. Shurz will lead JetBlue's network planning, airline partnerships, sales and revenue management, and enterprise planning teams which the airline says are "critical elements of the company's push for profitability and plans to strengthen its network positioning". He will report to JetBlue president, Marty St George. JetBlue also announced the appointment of Melinda Maher as vice-president, treasurer and infrastructure. She has served as vice-president, financial planning and analysis and structural cost since 2022. She previously served on JetBlue's finance team from 2013-2016 before taking on leadership roles at Alaska Airlines and Amazon. Shelly Griessel has been promoted to vice-president, customer support. She joined JetBlue in 2022 and since then has served as managing director, customer support, responsible for JetBlue's "omnichannel management of all customer contacts". She will continue to report to Jayne O’Brien, JetBlue's head of marketing and customer support. Katherine Celli has been named vice-president, culture, talent management, and organisational effectiveness. "In addition to bolstering JetBlue's efforts around culture, a key competitive advantage, Katherine will have oversight of talent management and organisational effectiveness," the airline states. Celli has been with JetBlue for 16 years, most recently as the culture and change management planning leader for the proposed Spirit integration. She will report to Tracy Lawlor, JetBlue's interim chief people officer. "JetBlue's leadership team is laser-focused on our objectives of returning to profitability and driving improved reliability while bolstering the unique culture that sets us apart in the industry," states Joanna Geraghty, JetBlue's chief executive. "We're happy to welcome Daniel Shurz to JetBlue and also to continue to strengthen our leadership team across commercial, finance and people to set our organisation up for success into the next chapter."

Once its fleet size hits 150 aircraft, all-Boeing operator SunExpress will need to look to "diversify" it, according to the chief executive of the Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa joint venture airline. Speaking at the UK Aviation Club on 17 April, Max Kownatzki said that once the Turkish airline has taken delivery of its existing order commitments with Boeing into the next decade SunExpress will need to diversify into a "multi-fleet operation" to "keep it in balance". Asked if this meant the carrier could look to order Airbus units, he said: "Right now we're at 77 aircraft in the summer peak this year. That's the size of an airline where I think a single fleet makes sense. With 166 aircraft we're shooting for in 2035, that may change and then it's important to basically not be dependent on one single aircraft manufacturer." Having engine choice and availability is "even more critical" than aircraft manufacturer concentration, he says, which makes diversification a pressing factor. SunExpress talks to Airbus but has no orders or commitments to disclose with them, according to Kownatzki. His airline ordered 40 737s, split between the -800 and -8 Max variants in 2014 and topped this up with an order in November 2023 for 90 737 Max narrowbodies, which included 28 Max 8s and 17 Max 10s, plus options for an additional 45 Max jets. It currently has 74 aircraft on order and 45 options, fleets data shows. Kownatzki says SunExpress is expecting to take delivery of five Max units in 2024 and does not expect to see any delays to these, which he says is important because the carrier has long-term commitments to its tour operator bookings. SunExpress is talking to Boeing about a further five deliveries in 2025, according to Kownatzki. Any delays, however, could be offset by extending expiring leased aircraft, he adds. But, Kownatzki says, the challenge is ensuring that the Max jets arrive in the first half of 2025. This is important to cater to the carrier's traditional high summer season market. If deliveries are pushed from February to October, for example, Kownatzki says it will "hurt" the carrier's revenue.

Transborder partners Delta Air Lines and Aeromexico have added to their codeshare a daily route connecting Boston and Mexico City while awaiting a final order from the US Department of Transportation that will determine the fate of their joint co-operation agreement. The route, operated by Aeromexico, launched on 22 March. The Mexican carrier is using Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft for the flights, Cirium data shows. The DOT on 26 January issued an "order to show cause" that, if finalised, would give the carriers until late October 2024 to "wind down" their immunised joint venture. It noted in its order that actions taken by the Mexican government regarding operations at Mexico City's Benito Juarez International airport are "fundamentally out of compliance with the existing bilateral air service agreement and international norms governing capacity management at airports". Delta and Aeromexico say in an objection submitted to the DOT on 23 February 2024 that they "strongly object" to the department's 26 January tentative dismissal of the two carriers' application seeking renewal of antitrust immunity granted in 2016 for the operation of a transborder joint venture. They argue that, if finalised, the order "would punish the [joint venture] partners and the communities they serve [and] erode competition in the transborder US-Mexico market". The US major told Cirium on 17 April that during the interim following the filing of its objection on 23 February, "nothing has changed here in that we don't know if and when DOT will issue a final order". Delta adds that more than 250 letters from governors, mayors, large corporations, and Hispanic organisations in the USA have been sent to US Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg alerting him to the "devastating effect" the unwinding of the transborder partnership would have on consumers, businesses, and "especially Latino-American families". Aeromexico and Delta disclosed in October 2023 that they intended to expand their codeshare in 2024 with 17 new routes from seven airports in Mexico to nine destinations in the USA.