ATR has confirmed that it delivered the first of three ATR 42-600 turboprops to Papua New Guinea's PNG Air in late May. The aircraft order had been initiated in 2024 but until recently was undisclosed, ATR notes. Papua New Guinea's Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC) said in a 21 May statement that three resources-linked landowner companies were buying the aircraft and leasing them to PNG Air under long-term deals. The first delivery was MSN 1804, built in 2026 and registered P2-ATT, Cirium data indicates. PNG Air will use the ATR 42-600s to replace ageing De Havilland Canada Dash 8-100s in its fleet. In addition to the new aircraft, Cirium lists 13 turboprops in service with PNG Air: nine ATR 72-600s, another ATR 42-600, and three Dash 8-100s. A further three Dash 8-100s and one ATR 72-600 are stored by the carrier. It has six ATR 72-600s on order. ATR says the carrier will have an all-ATR fleet and grow it to 16 aircraft this year. MRDC said in its May statement that it expected the three landowner companies to acquire a further three ATRs jointly.

India's government has approved an allocation of Rs100 billion ($1.04 billion) that will allow oil companies there to provide "price stabilisation" for jet fuel used by Indian carriers on both domestic and international services. The Ministry of Civil Aviation states that the fund will provide interest-free advances to oil companies to compensate for their "losses arising from elevated international [jet fuel] prices whenever the prevailing Import Parity Price exceeds the benchmark price determined under the approved mechanism." The advances will allow oil companies to adopt fixed pricing for jet fuel on both domestic and international operations, extending a capped pricing mechanism that applies for fuel used on domestic services. "This intervention will bring significant relief to airlines by reducing uncertainty in fuel costs and will ultimately benefit our passengers through reduced airfare[s]," says civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu. The fund will operate for three years, with the advances to be repaid once jet fuel prices moderate. While not supporting airlines directly, it is the second intervention that the Indian government has made aimed at addressing the impact of the Iran war on jet fuel prices. In May, Delhi created a RS50 billion pool of credit support under its Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme to allow airline borrowers to access additional bank funding due to the effects of the Iran war.

Airbus has completed a first flight with the A350-1000ULR variant in development for Qantas. The aircraft (MSN707) flew with an Airbus crew of two test pilots and four engineers for 3:43h and reached an altitude of slightly above 41,000ft before returning to Toulouse, the airframer says. It notes that MSN707 is the first of 12 A350-1000ULRs ordered by Qantas and is currently equipped with flight test instrumentation. It will be retrofitted for commercial operation after the test campaign. Airbus estimates that the flight test campaign will take two months. The A350-1000ULR features an additional rear-centre fuel tank designed to increase range by 1,000nm to 9,700nm and flight times of up to 22h. The airframer additionally intends to certificate during the campaign a new galley air cooling system with lighter and more efficient refrigeration units. Qantas intends to use the A350-1000ULR for nonstop flights from Australia's east coast to Europe and the US East Coast in a four-class layout with 238 seats. It is now scheduled to receive its first aircraft in April 2027. That aircraft will be the second A350-1000ULR, Airbus says. It will come out of the paint shop in coming days and subsequently receive its engines and finishing work for its cabin interior, the airframer adds. Airbus previously introduced an ultra-long-range variant of the A350-900.