The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has issued an emergency airworthiness directive (AD) that temporarily grounds thousands of Airbus A320-family aircraft for implementation of an urgent software change to their elevator aileron computers. The directive, issued on 28 November, puts into force an alert operator transmission which Airbus says was issued after analysis of an in-flight event revealed that "intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls". The AD covers all A319, A320 and A321 aircraft of all serial numbers, and requires the installation of serviceable ELAC B L103+ software while prohibiting the operation of the ELAC B L104 package. Operators of aircraft with the latter must replace or modify the affected ELAC (elevator aileron computer) with the serviceable one before the next flight. An allowance has been made for up to three non-passenger and non-ETOPS flights to position the aircraft for replacement. Fleets data shows that there are over 9,500 A319, A320 and A321 aircraft in service and over 1,300 in storage globally. Airbus says a "significant number of A320-family aircraft currently in-service which may be impacted" by the directive. "Airbus acknowledges these recommendations will lead to operational disruptions to passengers and customers," the manufacturer adds. "We apologize for the inconvenience caused and will work closely with operators, while keeping safety as our number one and overriding priority." The grounding is set to impact major A320-family operators in North America, such as JetBlue Airways, American Airlines and Spirit Airlines, and comes amid the peak Thanksgiving holiday period. Other airlines around the world said on 29 November that they were taking action to comply with the directive. Lufhansa says it has started implementing checks across its A320-family fleet which are set to "take several hours per aircraft" and may result in some delays and cancellations over the weekend. Avianca says more than 70% of its fleet is affected and that it has closed sales for travel up to 8 December. AirAsia's group chief executive Bo Lingam says the carrier is "taking immediate steps to comply with the airworthiness directive and aim to complete the process within the next 48 hours, while ensuring minimal disruption to our guests". Jetstar Airways says in a statement to passengers that "some of our Airbus-operated flights are unable to depart today" and warns that " alternative travel options are extremely limited over the coming days due to high demand across the network".

ANA Group is discontinuing its AirJapan brand to focus on a dual-brand strategy focused on the airline names ANA and Peach. AirJapan was launched as a medium-haul, low-cost subsidiary of ANA in February 2024, serving destinations including Bangkok, Seoul and Singapore from Tokyo Narita. Fleets data shows that AirJapan operates two Boeing 787-8s. It was set to take delivery of a third 787 and boost Tokyo-Singapore frequencies in November. However, its parent company says it has decided to suspend the AirJapan brand and integrate its aircraft and staff into the wider ANA brand, as a response to ongoing aircraft delivery delays and the "aircraft-on-ground situation" affecting ANA's 787s. "To optimize the allocation of the group's resources, ANA Group decided to suspend the AirJapan brand. Its aircraft and human resources will be consolidated into the ANA brand's operations to expand its international business," says ANA. "Furthermore, AirJapan – the operating company that has managed flights for both the ANA and AirJapan brands – will continue to contribute to ANA Group's international business by operating ANA-brand international flights, leveraging its high standard of operational quality." The changes will take place at the end of March 2026.

Lufthansa Group plans to keep its Airbus A380s in operation until at least 2030, having refitted the type with new Allegris business-class seats. During a briefing on third-quarter results, chief executive Carsten Spohr described the superjumbo as a "great aircraft" for its high-season summer routes when tickets sell out. "Customers love it, and our crews love it," he says, adding that it has "five years plus" still to run in Lufthansa service. Fleets data shows that Lufthansa's eight A380s, which have an average age of 13 years, are among 177 in service globally, compared with 234 at the end of pre-pandemic 2019. There are 29 in storage. Amid the Covid crisis, Lufthansa mothballed its A380 fleet and accelerated a plan to retire six of the aircraft. These are among a total of 48 A380s that have been retired globally. High operating costs have been cited as a factor in decisions to retire A380s, though some such pandemic-era moves have been reversed amid resurgent demand and lack of aircraft availability. Spohr says Lufthansa's phasing out of the A380 will depend on the arrival of the Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing 777-9. First delivery of the latter is now scheduled for 2027, Boeing said on 28 October. Lufthansa, which has 20 of the passenger variant on order, has previously been identified as its launch customer. The first 777-9 was originally scheduled to arrive in 2020. The German group intends to phase out A340s, A330-200s, 747-400s, 767s and 777-200s by 2028 at the latest. It has confirmed it will continue to fly its A340-600s next summer, in response to high demand. With the planned arrival of on-order 777-9s and A350-1000s, Lufthansa will operate six different long-haul aircraft variants from 2030, down from eight currently. The six will include its in-service aircraft the A350-900, 787-9 and 747-8.