Safran expects to end the year with high inventory levels for the CFM International Leap engine it jointly manufactures with GE Aerospace, amid Boeing's reduced 737 output and the ongoing strike at the airframer. In spite of Boeing's production issues, CFM continues to deliver Leap-1B engines to the airframer and receives from it a proportion of customer pre-delivery payments for 737 orders, Safran chief executive Olivier Andries said during a third-quarter results briefing on 25 October. He notes, however, that the overall number of deliveries to the assembly lines in Seattle is lower than previously anticipated. Safran and GE have reduced their full-year Leap production outlook to around 10% below the 1,570 deliveries of 2023, representing the third downgrade this year. The two manufacturers in February had predicted a 20-25% year-on-year production rise for 2024 but disclosed in April a reduction in the growth target to 10-15% and lowered it again in July, to 0-5%. Leap deliveries in the third quarter declined to 356, from 389 in the July-September period last year. This includes the Leap-1A variant, which is optionally available on Airbus A320neo-family jets. Year-to-date Leap deliveries had reached 1,029 on 30 September, down from 1,174 in 2023's first nine months. Beyond the situation at Boeing, Safran attributes the reduced Leap output to a bottleneck in high-pressure-turbine blade supply. This issue had emerged at a supplier earlier this year and was the prompt for CFM to lower its production outlook in July. Andries says the HPT blade supply has since improved but is still pacing Leap output and also below the required level to maintain CFM's production guidance from July. Both Boeing's Leap demand and the HPT supply issue will contribute to there being, by year-end, a three-digit number of surplus low-pressure Leap systems – the parts Safran produces for CFM. "We could theoretically decide to... basically decrease our inventory next year. But that would impact badly our suppliers," says Andries. "We have decided to soften the impact vis-a-vis our own supply chain because we want to make sure that our suppliers will continue to accompany us for the ramp-up, because the ramp-up will be there for Airbus and will restart on the Boeing side as well." He notes that Safran wants to keep its suppliers "on board and running" and adds: "We have our responsibility with the supply chain." Safran expects that new HPT blades will be certificated for the Leap-1A by year-end and for the Leap-1B by the end of 2025. Designed to double time on wing, the new blade "will not help everything, but it will be a help" to address production bottlenecks, says Andries. He adds that Safran has produced an unspecified volume of new HPT blades ready to ship after certification. Blades will primarily be shipped to MRO providers for insertion in in-service engines. Andries notes that while Leap deliveries to airframers are lossmaking for CFM, the engines' production breaks even overall as spare engines are sold to airlines at a profit.

Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on a range of sustainability initiatives. The Australian carrier says the MoU will focus on advancing the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and low carbon aviation fuel (LCAF), environmental management including waste and energy management, sustainable procurement, and aviation workforce development. The collaboration will also focus on the certification, production, and commercial uptake of SAF and LCAF in Australia, as well as exploring sustainability-related customer solutions, it adds. "This is our first sustainability-focused MoU with a partner airline, reflecting the growing and strategic nature of our relationship with Qatar Airways," Virgin Australia chief corporate affairs and sustainability officer Christian Bennett says. In October, Qatar Airways Group announced it plans to acquire a minority 25% equity stake in Virgin Australia, subject to the Australian government's approval.

The US Justice Department's antitrust division and the Department of Transportation will start a broad-focused public inquiry into competition in the country's airline sector. The agencies say they are seeking public information on consolidation, anticompetitive conduct, and "a wide range of issues affecting the availability and affordability of air travel options". The topics covered in the agencies' joint request for information (RFI) include previous airline mergers, exclusionary conduct, airport access, aircraft manufacturing, airline ticket sales, pricing, and rewards practices, and the experiences of aviation workers. "Competition in air travel is a vehicle for better quality, better fares, and better choices for Americans," states assistant attorney general Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department's antitrust division. "With this inquiry, we hope to learn more from the businesses and travellers at the centre of this essential industry. Their feedback will ensure the Justice Department can continue to build on its historic efforts to protect competition in air travel." The departments are inviting passengers, airline staff, analysts and travel agents, among others to provide comments. The deadline for submissions is 23 December 2024. The inquiry comes in the context of the Justic Department went to court to block the merger of JetBlue and Spirit on competition grounds, and to unwind JetBlue's Northwest Alliance with American Airlines.