Airbus will appeal a court ruling that found the airframer and Air France responsible for the crash of an A330 in 2009. The Paris court of appeal on 21 May decided that the two companies were guilty of manslaughter over the accident of Air France flight AF447, which killed all 216 passengers and 12 crew on board. The aircraft was en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris when it crashed into the south Atlantic after a high-altitude stall triggered by unreliable speed indications caused by sensor icing. Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury says that "it is hard to understand the decision made by the Paris court of appeal, which stands in contradiction to previous judicial rulings". The manufacturer cites a 2019 judicial order to drop charges against Airbus and Air France, and their acquittal in 2023. Faury says that Airbus has since the crash been "steadfast" in its commitment to assist judicial authorities and technical investigators in understanding the accident and "draw every possible lesson" to enhance safety standards. "Safety is at the heart of everything we do," he asserts, adding: "It guides every decision we make and every action we take, every single day." French pilot union SNPL has welcomed the appeal court's decision, noting that it found it "unacceptable to place the responsibility for the outcome of this accident solely on the pilots". The ruling affirms that the crash "cannot be reduced to an isolated human error but is the result of multiple failures", the union adds.

Emirates has refurbished the first of 15 Airbus A380s previously configured with a two-class cabin layout, as part of its wider fleet upgrade programme. The aircraft (A6-EUX) had been fitted with 615 seats: 557 in economy and 58 in business. Now, it has 569 seats across three classes: 76 in business, 56 in premium economy and 437 in standard coach. The widebody has returned to service. Emirates highlights that the new cabin configuration features, for the first time across its A380 operation, premium economy seats on the aircraft's upper deck, installed in a two-three-two layout. Refurbishment of the aircraft at Emirates' maintenance facility at Dubai International airport took two months, including planning and testing, says the carrier. It targets halving the required refurbishment time to 30 days per aircraft and completing the retrofit of the other 14 two-class A380s by year-end. Emirates uses four different cabin layouts across its 116 A380s: a 615-seat two-class configuration, a 517-seat three-class long-range one, a 489-seat three-class ultra-long-range one, and a 484-seat four-class ultra-long-range one. Emirates' passenger fleet also spans 119 Boeing 777-300ERs, 10 777-200LRs and 19 A350-900s. It has 54 A350s, 30 787s and 270 777X jets on order. As part of its ongoing refurbishment programme, Emirates has so far processed 53 777s and 42 A380s, representing more than a third of its current fleet, it says. The carrier disclosed the programme in 2021, with an initial target to complete 120 aircraft. Subsequently, this was expanded to 219 (110 A380s and 109 777s). The aim is to offer customers "a truly elevated experience", states Emirates Airline president Tim Clark, adding: "Our engineering team has been working continuously and at pace, in close collaboration with an ecosystem of partners and suppliers, to meticulously refresh and integrate the best-in-class products to each aircraft in the programme [and] has raised the bar at every step, in terms of complexity, scale and detailed craftsmanship."

UK leisure carrier Jet2 has reported improved jet fuel availability following recent discussions with its suppliers, reinforcing its plans to operate its full flying programme this summer. The airline says suppliers have highlighted their increased production as well as additional imports from regions unaffected by the Middle East, easing concerns over fuel availability. "We are in regular dialogue with our fuel suppliers, and the current picture is one of increased production and imports, meaning we continue to look ahead with confidence," states chief executive Steve Heapy. "Our message to holidaymakers is that summer is on." The message follows recent positive commentary from rivals EasyJet and Ryanair on fuel availability for the summer. Ryanair group chief executive Michael O'Leary said on 18 May that his company had close to "zero concerns" about fuel supply for the coming months. Jet2 had already confirmed it would not introduce fuel-related surcharges on existing bookings. It said the price customers paid at the time of booking would remain unchanged, and that it had removed surcharge provisions across all flights and holidays, though these had never previously been applied.