The parent of Philippine Airlines has refuted reports on the imminent sale of a significant stake in the airline while indicating it remained open to “strategic investors”. “While the sentiment is strongly in favour of welcoming strategic investor, the groundwork has yet to be started,” PAL Holdings stated in a 29 February filing to the Philippine stock exchange (PSE). It adds that “there is nothing to report on the matter at this time”. PAL was responding to a 28 February report by local newspaper The Philippine Star that the family of Filipino tycoon Lucio Tan, which controls the airline, was willing to sell a 20-25% stake, with a team recently formed to “receive some offers”. PAL Holdings’ 31 January PSE disclosure on its public shareholding indicates that Trustmark Holdings Corporation, a subsidiary of Lucio Tan’s listed holding company LT Group, owns the majority stake in PAL Holdings at 76.9%. Japanese airline group ANA Holdings has 9.5%, which it acquired in February 2019, although that was reduced to 4.78% during the airline's Chapter 11 reorganisation. “The Company has always been open or receptive to welcome strategic partners that will contribute positively to the ongoing effort of PAL to strengthen and position itself for growth in the coming years,” it states. It goes on to say that “alliances or partnerships of similar nature are most often beneficial to the company”. This is not the first time it has hosed down speculation that it was actively seeking new investors. In May 2023, the airline said it “was not actively seeking strategic investors” at that time, following remarks made by its chief operating officer Stanley Ng in response to what it described as a “theoretical question” on potential investment.

Rex Airlines narrowed its pre-tax loss for the six-month period ended 31 December to A$2.1 million ($1.37 million) from a A$15.7 million loss in the comparable period of 2022. Group total revenue was up 4.6% year on year to A$353 million, the Australian carrier says. For its first half of the financial year 2024, ASKs increased by up 13.7% however load factor dropped by 3.7 percentage points to 73.6%. The carrier narrowed its loss after tax to A$3.2 million from A$16.5 million in the same period a year ago, aided by an A$28.8 million "other gains" item, which was driven by fair value gains on convertible notes, warrants and foreign currency. Rex's charter joint venture National Jet Express (NJE) grew its revenue by 15% to A$119 million, as it secured seven new contracts during the period. Fleets data shows that NJE operates nine De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400s, six Embraer 190-E1s and four BAe 146-300Fs. Rex ended the period with A$54.6 million in cash, down from A$61.3 million at 31 December 2022. It foresees its revenue to grow for the full year, as it expects improvements in all its subsidiaries.

Qatar Airways' codeshare partner China Southern Airlines plans to launch a new route to Doha from Guangzhou in China from 22 April. The route will be operated four times weekly flights using Boeing 787 aircraft, Qatar Airways says. China Southern is Qatar Airways' third codeshare partner in China, following Oneworld partners Cathay Pacific and Xiamen Airlines. The new flights connect travellers to Qatar Airways' worldwide network of over 170 destinations through Hamad International Airport, providing connections and additional choice to destinations in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. By connecting their networks, both partner airlines hope to increase business and leisure travel to and from China, thereby strengthening the bonds between the two countries. Group chief executive officer Badr Mohammed Al-Meer states: "Qatar Airways welcomes our codeshare partner, China Southern Airlines, to Qatar. This strategic partnership between our two airlines is a testimony of our commitment to develop traffic to and from China for the benefit of our worldwide travellers."