Turkish Airlines' planned investment in Air Europa will give the two carriers greater reach into their respective route networks, the Istanbul-based carrier's finance chief has suggested. Speaking on stage at the ISTAT EMEA conference in Prague on 6 October, Murat Seker said Turkish's intention to take a minority stake in Air Europa represented an opportunity to expand beyond its "organic growth prospects". Turkish agreed earlier this year to acquire a 25-30% holding in Madrid-based Air Europa for €300 million ($352 million). Seker notes that Spain is the second-most-visited country in Europe, while Turkiye is fifth most visited. Thus the tie-up "could be a great way to connect Madrid with Istanbul, to start with". There is also potential for Star Alliance member Turkish to expand beyond the 10 destinations it serves in Latin America, while Air Europa will be able to take advantage of its partner's Asian network. "Istanbul is the most connected city globally, and then through Istanbul airport, you can connect anywhere within two hours," adds Seker. He cites lack of widebody capacity as one of the factors that influenced Turkish's decision to invest in Air Europa. Seker predicts that Turkish will grow from 500 aircraft at year-end to 620 within the next 10 years. This will allow it to add more services to the Americas and also increase capacity into Asia. The airline plans to add a second daily bank of services from Istanbul to the market. "They usually leave at night and then arrive early morning and then either distribute to Europe or, if they visit Istanbul, Turkiye. But if we add like a new bank to that, it will provide additional opportunities to collect and distribute," says Seker.

KLM has commissioned its first Airbus A350 full-flight simulator and plans to "shortly" begin pilot training for the incoming long-haul jet. The CAE-supplied simulator is the first for A350 pilots in the Netherlands, KLM says, noting that the equipment's acceptance process at the Canadian manufacturer's facility in Montreal is similar to that for aircraft deliveries. The simulator's transport, in parts, to Amsterdam and subsequent reassembly at a recently expanded training centre at KLM's Schiphol-East site presented a logistical challenge, the Dutch carrier adds. "Due to its size, the simulator couldn’t pass through the main gate and had to be hoisted over the fence. It is now fully installed and ready for use. The first group of A350 pilots will begin training shortly," the airline states. KLM's first A350 "will join the fleet at the end of 2026", it adds. Air France-KLM in 2023 ordered 50 A350s, spanning both the -900 and -1000 variants, for delivery across the across two mainlines, and took options on another 40. KLM plans to introduce A350s to replace A330s and Boeing 777s in its fleet.

Maldivian has issued a tender seeking a general sales agent in Russia ahead of flights commencing there during 2026. The carrier states in a request for proposals that it is looking to strengthen its presence in the Russian market, which is "one of the top source markets for tourists to the Maldives". The document states that "operations to Russia is planned to commence by 2026", with the expected date that the GSA to be engaged from 1 March. No other specific details on which destinations in Russia would be served were included in the RFP, with bids due by 19 October. Maldivian operates two jet aircraft, an Airbus A320ceo and an A330-200, fleet data shows, and it appears likely that the A330, which is leased from True Noord would be used on the Russian routes. Schedules data shows that the two aircraft are primarily used on flights to destinations in southern India, Bangladesh, China and Thailand. Aeroflot is currently the only operator between Russia and the Maldives, operating nine-weekly services between Moscow Sheremetyevo and Male, while from November it will be joined by Azur Air which will fly thrice-weekly on the Moscow Vnukovo-Male route.