Air Canada has ordered eight Airbus A350-1000s to its fleet and take purchase rights on eight more. Deliveries of the aircraft, which are powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines, are scheduled to begin in the second half of 2030. "This state-of-the-art aircraft adds a new dimension to Air Canada’s long-haul capabilities, with impressive range, enhanced payload, and proven economics that unlock new possibilities for long-haul flying for our customers,” says the carrier's executive vice-president and chief commercial officer Mark Galardo. The A350s are likely to replace some of the 25 Boeing 777s in its fleet, comprised of 19 -300ERs and six -200LRs with average ages of 15.6 and 18.2 years, respectively, Cirium fleets data shows. The order for eight A350-1000s is in addition to the 14 787-10s that Air Canada expects to enter into service later this year, while it will add its first of 30 A321XLRs "in the coming months". The airline adds that it is continuing to take delivery of A220s, with 23 aircraft remaining from its firm order of 65, while an additional five Boeing 737 Max jets, on lease are expected to enter service in 2026.

Dublin-based ASL Aviation has agreed to sell its interest in South African low-cost carrier FlySafair to local investors Harith General Partners. The value of the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, has not been disclosed. Launched in 2014 with three aircraft, FlySafair is described by ASL as the "market leader" in South Africa, accounting for more than two-thirds of domestic seat capacity. It operates a fleet of 39 Boing 737s and has carried 54 million passengers. As well as domestic services, it operates routes to Mauritius, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. "ASL Aviation Holdings is proud to have supported the growth of a fledgling airline to become a leader in African aviation, opening air travel to millions of South Africans for the first time," states group chief executive Dave Andrew, who served as FlySafair's founding chief. "With new international routes now added to its network, the time has come to pass the baton to Harith who are ideally placed to oversee the airline's continued development and growth." In February last year, regulators gave FlySafair 12 months to rectify an earlier breach of local ownership requirements. South Africa's Air Services Licensing Council ruled in December 2024 that it did not meet a legal requirement to have 75% of its shareholder voting rights held by "natural persons who are citizens and residents of South Africa". The airline said at the time that it had been given a year to align with the requirements. "We will do everything in our power to ensure compliance in these 12 months," stated marketing chief Kirby Gordon. Johannesburg-based Harith General Partners is a pan-African infrastructure investor with a strong focus on transportation, energy, connectivity and logistics. "Aviation is core infrastructure," states Tshepo Mahloele, who co-founded and chairs of Harith. "FlySafair has demonstrated how affordable, reliable air travel can unlock growth, jobs and opportunity. We are excited to support the next phase of this journey." Safair was ranked first in Cirium's 2025 on-time performance rankings for the Middle East and Africa after 91% of its flights landed within 15min of scheduled arrival time.

Italy's ITA Airways is resuming services from Rome Fiumicino to London Heathrow for the summer season. The carrier states that it will "further enhance connectivity" between the hubs with a twice-daily service. ITA axed the previous link in March 2024, data from slot co-ordinator ACL shows that ITA has been granted a temporary lease of two daily slots at Heathrow from Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings from 29 March to 26 October. Lufthansa Group has owned 41% of ITA since January last year, and the two companies have been integrating their operations. Data shows that ITA currently operates from Rome to London City airport, but this service will cease for the summer season. Across the coming summer season. the airline will operate to 19 domestic, 36 international and 17 intercontinental destinations as well as 12 seasonal ones to Italian, Greek and Spanish islands. Last year, Cirium data shows, it operated 71 summer routes. A new intercontinental route to Houston will be operated from 1 May, with three weekly flights initially, rising to five from June. That will be the first-ever direct connection between the Texan city and Rome. ITA notes that it is continuing the integration process with Lufthansa Group, encompassing 63 projects "aimed at generating benefits in terms of increased revenues and cost reductions". It highlights existing synergies including codeshares, loyalty programme co-operation, lounge access, alignment of fare structures, cargo traffic management and optimisation of flight-handling operations at the airlines' hubs.