Israeli flag carrier El Al has received board approval to enter exclusive negotiations with Boeing and aircraft lessors with the view to purchasing and leasing around 30 Boeing 737 Max jets, according to a 10 June filing to the Tel Aviv stock exchange. These would be the first Max jets to be added to the company's almost all-Boeing fleet, fleets data shows. El Al has an in-service and stored fleet of 49 aircraft, along with six Boeing 787-9s on order. The under-negotiation Max jets, which will cost $2-2.5 billion, will "gradually replace" the carrier's existing 737s and be used to expand its narrowbody fleet, the filing adds. The final cost of the aircraft will depend on the number of aircraft purchased, the number of aircraft leased, purchase options exercised by the company, price adjustments at the future delivery dates of the aircraft, credits granted to the company, and other factors, El Al says. Deliveries are expected to start in 2027 and take place over "several years". El Al expects the negotiations to take several weeks. "There is no certainty that a preliminary offer document, a binding agreement, or the transactions with Boeing or with the aircraft leasing companies will be completed," the company says. The announcement, published in Hebrew, did not state which variant of the Max El Al is interested in. A deal, if consummated, would be a significant win for Boeing following the Alaska Airlines door-plug accident at the start of this year, although it would still be dwarfed by American Airlines' firm order for 85 Max 10s, alongside similarly sized orders for Airbus and Embraer aircraft, placed in March.

A Democratic member of the US House of Representatives and a counterpart on the Republican side of the government body together have launched the Congressional Sustainable Aviation Caucus, which is now seeking to expand its ranks with additional House members. Representatives Sharice Davids, a Democrat from Kansas, and Dusty Johnson, a Republican from South Dakota, will co-chair the caucus. Kansas and South Dakota are in the US heartland region, where US corn production is concentrated, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Growers of corn – a primary feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel – got a boost in late April when the US Treasury and Internal Revenue Service released guidance providing corn-feedstock-based SAF producers with long-awaited clarity on whether the Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model can be used to satisfy requirements needed to qualify for the section 45Z SAF Clean Fuel Production Credit embedded in the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by US president Joe Biden in August 2022. The original law did not specify use of the GREET model. The new congressional caucus intends to apply federal policy and hold forums with an eye toward accelerating the development of sustainable aviation fuel "and the integration of technologies that improve aircraft fuel efficiency, reduce emissions, and save money in the long run," Davids' office says. "Adopting these sustainable practices is critical for our national security and economic resilience," Davids states. "I'm glad to join forces with representative Johnson to ensure America's aviation industry continues to be resilient and reliable for years to come." Johnson adds: "The aviation industry is flying towards a more sustainable future. From sustainable aviation fuel to advanced air mobility to hydrogen aviation, there are a lot of shifts we can expect to see in the coming years."

Emirates has become the first international airline to join Aireg, a German aviation initiative for renewable energy. The UAE carrier says it will contribute to efforts to ramp up locally produced sustainable aviation fuel in Germany. Aireg is a non-profit initiative founded in 2011 as an association of companies and organisations from industry, research and science to boost the availability and use of renewable energies in aviation to achieve CO2-reduction targets. "We're very pleased to become a member of Aireg and contribute to Germany's efforts to build its capacities to become a centre for SAF production," states Emirates Airline president Tim Clark. "Ramping up and furthering technologies for the production of SAF requires the partnership and support from multiple stakeholders, and we are confident that Aireg will lead in this regard." Dubai-based Emirates currently operates SAF-powered flights from Amsterdam, London Heathrow, Paris, Lyon, Oslo and Singapore.