India's largest low cost carrier IndiGo will launch a business class product before the end of the year. Speaking during a 23 May earnings call, chief executive Pieter Elbers says the move is about meeting the "evolving needs and aspirations of our Indian customers" and is the "next step in the evolution of IndiGo". "We will be launching a tailor-made business product on the busiest routes and business routes of the country before the end of this year," he adds. "There is an ever-growing need for premium travel in India and by launching this new product we will create a desired option for many who are aiming to travel business, and perhaps for some of them, for the first time in their lives." Elbers says that more details on the routes and launch dates will be announced in August.It appears likely that the new business class will feature on its 30 Airbus A321XLRs, which fleets data shows are scheduled to start delivering from early 2025. The airline has previously flagged that it intends to use the additional range of those narrowbodies to continue the expansion of its international network. IndiGo's current fleet of 82 A321neos are configured in a single-class layout of 232 economy seats, while its 192 A320s are configured with 180 or 186 seats. The announcement of business class comes weeks after IndiGo placed an order for 30 Airbus A350-900s and options for 70 more that will allow it to launch long haul services once deliveries commence in 2027. At the time the airline noted that it has not settled on a configuration for the widebody jets, but it was likely to include business class seating.

Airbus, Boeing, Dassault Aviation, GE Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, Safran are among 13 aerospace companies which have formed a work group to assess the impact of 100% sustainable aviation fuel on aircraft systems. Boeing will lead the group dubbed WG 13, with Airbus acting as deputy lead. The team's objective is to co-ordinate fuel tests and support standards organisation ASTM International in its efforts to develop new specifications for 100% SAF, the International Aerospace Environmental Group (IAEG) says. It adds that WG 13 will engage infrastructure stakeholders, including fuel producers, airports and airlines, to determine required steps for a transition to SAF. "This collaboration will help prepare the broader aviation ecosystem for 100% SAF capabilities, as part of the aviation industry goal of achieving net zero CO2 emissions by 2050," Boeing vice-president of environmental sustainability and IAEG board member Ryan Faucett states. "We will share our findings from our SAF compatibility and ground-breaking jet reference fluids research and continue to collaborate with this work group to support a more sustainable aviation future, together."

Wizz Air expects the GTF engine issue that is currently grounding tens of its aircraft to be resolved during 2026, removing a major blocker on the low-cost carrier’s growth. During a briefing on its results for the financial year ended 31 March full year 2024, Wizz's chief executive Jozsef Varadi said he expected it to be "done and dusted" with the cycle of removing engines to be repaired and returning them to service "sometime" during 2026. "We are at a peak [of groundings] as we speak" with 47 aircraft currently out of operation, he said during an investors' webcast. The figure will tick up slightly later this year before reducing to around 35 next summer. Up to now, almost all new engines that the airline has received – both spares and those arriving on new aircraft – have been subject to cycle limits of around 18 months, after which they need to come off-wing for inspection and overhaul. But Wizz has now started receiving new spare engines that are free of contamination. From next month, engines it receives on newly delivered aircraft will likewise be unaffected. “Now we have started receiving spare engines clean of powdered metals," says Varadi. "We are expecting the same to happen to new aircraft as of June." Concurrently, there has been an improvement in the speed at which manufacturer Pratt & Whitney is turning around engines that it receives for overhaul, tightening an original timeline of 300 days to 180. "Clearly they have been able to improve procedures and around production," says Varadi, noting that as a result it is "quite likely" the carrier will be able to return some aircraft back to service faster than it expected. Wizz has received "significant" compensation from P&W for the disruption so far, it says. Resolution of the GTF issue will remove a significant drag on Wizz’s performance since the first aircraft was grounded around last September, although, the airline acknowledges, the problem will still get worse before it gets better. Plus, it is now eating into the most profitable part of the year. Wizz has been seeking to offset the issue by extending lease contracts on older aircraft and bringing in some wet-lease capacity to cover the shortfall. It has received 39 A321neos. Capacity was raised a quarter through fiscal 2024, and passenger numbers hit a record 62 million – up from 51 million the year before. But with the number of groundings steadily increasing, nearly a quarter of its capacity currently is out of operation. The number of aircraft out action will actually move higher to 50 by end-September, and across the full fiscal year 2025 capacity growth will be flat. Elsewhere in the business, Varadi notes a "significant turnaround across [our] operating metrics", citing fleet utilisation – excluding those aircraft grounded because of the GTF issue – which has risen from 12h in 2020 to 12.5h last year, and should hit 12.75h this year. "This is a very significant factor" in enabling the business to spread its fixed costs, he says. Punctuality improved, and costs, both fuel and non-fuel, fell. "The fundamentals of the business are back in place," Varadi asserts. Wizz has reported EBITDA result of €1.2 billion, up from €134 million last year, on revenue of €5.1 billion. Its net profit of €366 million reverses a €535 million loss in fiscal 2023. "While some of the external challenges we experienced throughout [financial year] '24, including groundings due to GTF engine inspections and geopolitical instability, are expected to persist in the coming year, we have proven that our model is agile, highly resilient and well positioned to mitigate the impact of these ongoing issues," states Varadi. "This includes the current scale and diversity of our network, which means we are incredibly well placed to react quickly to issues as they arise." Analysis from investment firm Goodbody notes that revenue was slightly below its forecasts while costs met expectations. "Overall, we think the market should take some comfort from today's update,” it writes, noting that "the GTF issue looks to be no worse with capacity in [fiscal 2025] still expected to be flat" with guidance on revenues "a little better than expected given recent updates".