Air New Zealand has requested that the country's government convene an urgent inquiry into airport pricing over what it sees as "overspending" by Auckland airport on a major redevelopment programme. Its key contention is that the airport's NZ$7-8 billion ($4.33-4.95 billion) building plan over the next 10 years will be paid for by higher charges on airlines and passengers. "The new airport will look great, but this spend doesn’t deliver an additional runway and there will be virtually no increase in airside capacity for more customers," says Air New Zealand chief Greg Foran. "By 2032 the value of the airport’s asset base, which dictates the size of its charges, will have increased per-passenger domestic charges five times, with more to come in the future. He adds that while the airline agrees that the airport needs further development, it has presented alternative development options to the operator that are "significantly cheaper, while still providing a great facility". Rather than the current "information disclosure" regulatory approach, the airline says that there are existing provisions in the relevant laws to force the airport to enter into commercial negotiations with carriers and enter arbitration if that fails, or else price and quality of service controls can be set by the New Zealand Commerce Commission. Air New Zealand adds that the request has been supported by the Qantas Group, IATA and the Board of Airline Representatives of New Zealand, which represents foreign carriers operating in the country.

Australia's government will reform some of the rules around managing landing and takeoff slots at Sydney Airport to better manage demand and disruptions but will not lift the 80 movements per hour cap nor the overnight curfew. Transport minister Catherine King says that the package of reforms "deliver better efficiency, competition and consumer outcomes" by providing more transparency over how slots are allocated and used by airlines and bring those processes into alignment with international standards. "Airlines will be required to provide regular information on how they use slots, such as reasons for cancellations or major delays, and this monitoring information will be regularly published," she says. "Independent audits of slot usage will be undertaken, with results published, to better detect and crack down on anti-competitive behaviour. This will help make sure that travellers have better information about airline performance." The move comes amid allegations that Qantas and Virgin Australia have retained slots at Sydney during peak periods by continuing to schedule flights using peak slots only to later cancel them. Rivals Bonza and Rex have also noted that the bank of slots the two large carriers at Sydney hold is a major barrier to launching or expanding new flights there. The government will also introduce a "recovery period" under which the airport will be able to increase movements to 85 per hour for up to two hours following a major disruption, such as weather or security events. It will not allow that recovery period to spill into the 11pm-6am curfew, however, and will only be implemented on the day of the disruption. Canberra is also proposing to alter the scheme under which regional services from New South Wales access dedicated slots at Sydney, allowing carriers operating those services to use any slot during the peak period hours, which will change from 6-11am and 3-8pm to 7-11am and 3-5pm. Qantas welcomed the changes, noting that increasing the efficiency of Sydney airport would have a positive effect on airports around Australia. It also noted that the greater transparency around slot allocation "will help clarify recent public debates on how the system works and demonstrate that claims Qantas has been hoarding slots are wrong. Qantas is operating well over 90 per cent of its allocated slots — above the 80 per cent threshold level that is the global standard for key airports around the world."

Embraer is eyeing opportunities to expand the fleet in Vietnam with “at least 50 aircraft” with a combination of brand new E2s and used E1 jets. Speaking to at Singapore Airshow, Raul Villaron, vice-president and head of Asia-Pacific says he sees “huge potential” to build on its existing presence in the country, which is the brightest market after its strongholds in Australia and Japan. “The market’s there [in Vietnam], and you can do it quickly, let’s say over the next five years,” he says. He cites the nature of airport infrastructure beyond the key international gateways that caps operations to smaller narrowbodies and turboprops. Bamboo Airways is currently the only operator of Embraer jets in the country, with a trio of in-service E190-E1s in the fleet, fleet data shows. Vietnam Airlines and VietJet are not currently operators. Villaron citing airports like Con Dau, where the largest jets it can accommodate are E2s, as routes that Bamboo has deployed the jets, facilitating a direct connection with Hanoi without a stop in Ho Chi Minh City. “We are working with the airlines there to try to convince them to work with us. We have the support in place now,” he adds.