Spanish carrier Iberia has outlined plans to increase its long-haul fleet 55% by 2030 as it intensifies its focus on transatlantic travel. Outlining its "strategic guide" for the period to 2030, the IAG subsidiary reveals its expectations for a €6 billion ($6.9 billion) investment in greater capacity, an increase in reach and refurbished cabins across much of its fleet. It has targeted a fleet expansion to 70 long-haul jets, up from 45 currently, and the positioning of Madrid Barajas as "a major European hub". This includes launching services to the new destinations of Toronto, Philadelphia and Mexican city Monterrey, on top of already announced new connections to Recife and Fortaleza in Brazil and to Orlando. "Iberia will also continue exploring new opportunities, particularly across the Atlantic," it says. Data for June shows that transatlantic services account for 17% of Iberia's capacity by seats, making the market its biggest outside Europe. Iberia's plans to increase its long-haul fleet include the addition of Airbus A321XLR aircraft, a single aisle with the range to operate transatlantic routes. The carrier was first to operate the XLR on a transatlantic route, using it to serve Boston from Madrid last year, and has since assigned the aircraft to its Washington DC service. Iberia has three XLRs in service and five on order. Iberia said previously it would be used "with a special focus on America". Iberia's services to Recife and Fortaleza, set to start in December and January, respectively, will be operated with the A321XLR. New A350s will also join the fleet. Iberia has 22 in service and eight more on order and could "potentially" receive A330neos "drawn from the recently announced IAG group order, which will be allocated across its member airlines". The group ordered 21 of the widebodies in May. In addition, all of Iberia's long-haul cabins are set to be renovated, and it will open a premium lounge in Terminal 4 at Barajas. Within its short- and medium-haul fleet, Iberia plans to undertake "comprehensive renewal", phasing out nearly all older-generation jets with A320neo-family equipment and thus "reinforcing the airline's commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050", it says. "Thanks to Iberia's profound transformation over the last decade and the efforts of all our people, we are now delivering results that allow us to look to the future with confidence and invest €6 billion in our Flight Plan 2030," states chief executive Marco Sansavini. "We want to grow from the current 45 long-haul aircraft to 70 to position Barajas as a major European hub and enhance Spain's global connectivity." The strategic plan envisages that annual profitability of 13.5-15% will enable the €6 billion investment over the course of the plan.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued an urgent safety recommendation to the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure Boeing 737 Max operators inform crew about actions to take to mitigate smoke entering the cockpit and cabin in the event of in-flight damage to its engines. The recommendation stems from an investigation into a December 2023 incident in which smoke entered the airplane after a bird was ingested into the left engine of a Southwest Airlines 737 Max 8 shortly after departing New Orleans. The flight deck filled with what was described as "acrid white smoke" that affected the captain's ability to read the instrument panel, the NTSB says. "The crew donned masks, were able to clear the smoke, and landed the airplane back in New Orleans. None of the crew or passengers were injured," it explains. A similar event occurred in March 2023 on another Southwest flight when vapour fog filled the passenger cabin after birds were ingested into the right engine shortly after departing Havana, the investigation for which is ongoing. In both incidents smoke entered the cockpit as a result of activating the engine's load reduction device (LRD), which reduces the transmission of vibrations to the airframe when an engine is damaged in-flight, can result in damage to the engine oil system and fumes to enter the bleed air systems that supply the cabin and cockpit. "Concerned that flight crews operating these airplanes may not be fully aware of the potential hazard of an LRD smoke-related event along with the appropriate mitigation actions, the NTSB issued an urgent safety recommendation to the Federal Aviation Administration asking the agency to ensure that operators inform flight crews of airplanes equipped with the affected engines," it adds. "Boeing has revised flight manuals for pilots detailing the steps to take to prevent smoke from entering the cockpit or cabin following an LRD activation." In a report on the New Orleans incident, the NTSB states that CFM and Boeing have begun work on a software update that would more quickly activate the pressure regulating shutoff valve on the engine when the LRD activates to "mitigate the presence of smoke or fumes in the cockpit or airplane cabin" that is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026. The Board issued recommendations to both CFM and Boeing to "complete the development and certification process" for the software modification to prevent or limit the amount of smoke released into the cabin after an LRD activation. It has also issued additional recommendations to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Civil Aviation Administration of China to "evaluate the potential for the same issue with Leap-1A and -1C engines" to determine if other variants of the Leap engine are also susceptible to smoke in the cabin or cockpit when an LRD activates, "and require affected operators to incorporate any modification that results". The Leap-1A is one of two engines available for the Airbus A320neo family, while the -1C is the role powerplant for the C919. The NTSB also asked the FAA and EASA to require all operators of the affected engines to incorporate software modifications developed by CFM and Boeing.

Air India will reduce international services operated by its widebodies by 15% from 20 June until at least mid-July as it undertakes enhanced safety checks following a 12 June crash, and contends with turmoil in the Middle East. The carrier has had to cancel 83 flights in the last six days, due to safety inspections, a "necessary cautious approach" taken by engineering staff and pilots, and night curfew in the airspaces of many countries in Europe and East Asia due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, according to a 19 June LinkedIn update. "Given the compounding circumstances that Air India is facing, to ensure stability of our operations, better efficiency and to minimise inconvenience to passengers, Air India has decided to reduce its international services on widebody aircraft by 15% for the next few weeks," it states, adding that the revised schedule would be "shared shortly". The carrier says the cuts also "effectively adds to our reserve aircraft availability to take care of any unplanned disruptions." In an update on safety checks, the carrier says 26 out of 33 of its Boeing 787-8s and -9s have been cleared for service, with the remaining expected to complete checks in the coming days. "The fact that 26 aircraft have been cleared gives reassurance in the safety measures and procedures that we follow," states the carrier. Furthermore, Air India says it will also conduct "enhanced safety checks" on its 777 fleet "as a matter of added precaution". Besides the 33 787s on its fleet, the carrier operates 20 777-300ERs, five 777-200LRs and six Airbus A350-900s, and has two 777s listed as stored, Cirium fleets data shows. "The curtailments are a painful measure to take, but are necessary following a devastating event which we are still working through and an unusual combination of external events. It is done to restore operational stability, and to minimise last-minute inconvenience to passengers," it adds.