South African Airways has added two Airbus A320s on lease from AerCap to its fleet, taking the number of its aircraft to 20 jets. Arrival of the single-aisles comes alongside a flurry of new services from the carrier as it seeks to rebuild its fleet and network after suffering from years of financial turmoil, including a long period in business rescue, a form of bankruptcy protection. These services include a new daily connection between Johannesburg and Dar es Salaam, East Africa's largest city, as well as increased frequencies to Harare and Lusaka to 12 flights per week, up from 10 and seven, respectively. Meanwhile flights to Lagos and Accra have risen from three to four times a week, and to Kinshasa five times a week. SAA launched services to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mining hub Lubumbashi in November 2024. “These additional aircraft will enable SAA to continue fulfilling our promise to add seat capacity in both the domestic and regional market and thereby contributing to the affordability of passenger air travel,” says chief executive John Lamola. SAA adds that the deal with AerCap “is one proof of the recovery of the airline’s credit status with major international aviation finance institutions”. Beside A320s, SAA’s fleet comprises A330s and A340s, which it uses for relaunched intercontinental routes from Johannesburg to Sao Paulo and Perth, and from Cape Town to Sao Paulo. SAA intends to add five more aircraft to its fleet this year. “SAA’s fleet growth comes as the airline enters a phase of consolidation, increasing the frequency of flights to service an existing route network, to ensure South African leisure and business travellers enjoy more direct access to major African cities. In addition, SAA Cargo facilitates trade links between economic hubs across the continent and beyond,” Lamola says. As recently as three years ago, SAA was operating just six aircraft on a handful of routes as it sought to stem losses and fashion itself into a profitable business. In 2020 and 2021, the airline shut down operations entirely for nearly a year, only reopening having secured a government bailout, later returning to a slim operating profit of R252 million ($13.9 million) in its 2022/23 financial year.

Icelandair and Southwest Airlines have signed a strategic partnership agreement, the next step in an alliance that began in September 2024 with a memorandum of understanding. The MoU had established connections between the two airlines' networks, with Baltimore-Washington International as the first connecting airport launching in February 2025. The newly signed partnership agreement expands their co-operation by adding Nashville and Denver as connecting points. Customers will be able to travel via Baltimore, Nashville and Denver onward to Iceland and Europe, and from Iceland on Southwest's network via the three gateways.

Lufthansa Group has completed its acquisition of a 41% stake in Italy's flagship carrier ITA Airways through a €325 million capital increase, with the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) retaining the remaining 59%. The deal, initially agreed in May 2023, received European Commission approval in November 2024, says Lufthansa. ITA Airways becomes Lufthansa's fifth network airline, making Italy the group's newest home market after Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Belgium. The airline currently operates 99 aircraft, including 22 long-haul aircraft, serving approximately 70 destinations and carrying 18 million passengers in 2024. Key aspects include immediate integration plans, with joint customer programs launching in summer 2024. ITA Airways' frequent flyers will soon be able to use either the "Volare" program or Lufthansa's Miles & More program. Rome's Fiumicino airport will serve as Lufthansa's sixth and southernmost hub. Lufthansa chief Carsten Spohr states: "We look forward to continuing this success story of ITA Airways together. With our investment, we will now strengthen the Italian and European aviation market and the position of the Lufthansa Group as number one in Europe." Options for Lufthansa to acquire the remaining shares in ITA Airways have been agreed upon and can be exercised starting this year.