Air France-KLM's board has renewed Marjan Rintel’s mandate as president and chief executive of KLM for a second four-year term. Rintel took office in July 2022, and her initial mandate was set to expire at this year's group AGM. Her mission will be to accelerate KLM's transformation and restore its operational performance, as the airline has struggled to regain pre-Covid levels of flying and profitability. Notably, it has faced a shortage of flightcrew and maintenance workers, at times requiring Air France pilots fly its aircraft to reduce the pressure on its own staff. KLM's profit declined in 2025's third quarter, hit by higher charges at Amsterdam Schiphol airport and increased maintenance costs. It has also run up against capacity caps at Schiphol, which it says hurt its ability to cater to transfer passengers and threaten its business model. The carrier notes that Rintel's core focus will be on “strengthening its financial health to meet the group's ambitious medium-term targets". These include an 8%-plus operating margin for 2026-28, up from around 5% in 2024. "KLM operates in a challenging and highly competitive environment," states Rintel. "To be successful in that context, we must have a solid operational and financial foundation. That is why we are intensifying and accelerating our transformation. We will take structural measures to simplify our organisation, improve our operation, increase our revenue, and reduce our costs." Air France-KLM chief executive Benjamin Smith observes that KLM has faced an "adverse Dutch aviation environment" post-pandemic, citing "significant increases of taxes and external costs". He describes the task of restoring the carrier's performance as "demanding", adding: "The group will increase its support to KLM and ensure additional synergies are found. Marjan has my full trust and support to tackle the considerable challenges that KLM faces". In addition to renewing Rintel's term, KLM says it will appoint a new operating chief when the post's current holder, Maarten Stienen, steps down in May.

The Netherlands is again looking at opening Lelystad military airport to passenger flights to relieve the pressure on Amsterdam Schiphol. Located a 40min drive east of Amsterdam, Lelystad would become a dual‑use air force base with civil and military operations set at an initial cap of 10,000 annual flight movements. A plan to use the facility for commercial flights was previously pursued prior to the onset of the Covid pandemic. The new vision for Lelystad is set out in a collation document agreed between the D66, VVD and CDA political parties on 30 January. Holding 66 out of the 150-seat House of Representatives, these parties are set to form a minority government over the next few weeks. Presenting the document, VVD leader Dilan Yesilgoz said that opening Lelystad airport was an "important aspect" of the coalition's plans and one which "we're very pleased about". The coalition plans to formalise Schiphol's current ceiling of 478,000 annual flight movements, indicating that the government will no longer seek to cut flights further at the hub. Dutch authorities have previously looked at reducing the ceiling to as low as 440,000, principally to reduce noise. That was pushed back following complaints from airlines, pressure from foreign governments (particularly the USA) and legal concerns about the methodology used to calculate the cap. The coalition also envisages a new framework which will require Schiphol to reduce noise levels by 50% at night by 2030 compared with 2024, and a cessation of flights between midnight and 05:00. Dutch carrier KLM argues that the ambition to close the airport during these hours will "run counter" to the coalition's other ambition of creating the strongest national economy in the EU. It cites the "crucial importance of Schiphol's hub function for our international connectivity and a competitive aviation sector for our earning capacity and investment climate". The Netherlands will also push for a uniform EU‑wide aviation tax, replacing the national ticket tax. The coalition's position is that a harmonised levy would create a level playing field across Europe, rewarding cleaner aircraft. This is welcomed by KLM, which says it expects "a swift first step to align the Dutch aviation tax at least with that of Germany", adding: "This is necessary to remain competitive with neighbouring countries."

Qantas has entered into a non-binding agreement to sell its 33.3% stake in Jetstar Japan to Development Bank of Japan that, if executed, will see the low cost carrier transition to a new brand. Any deal is subject to "further negotiation and regulatory approvals", but the parties have tentatively set a timeline of this July to finalise a shareholder agreement, then announce a new brand in October, with completion of the transfer and rebrand to be completed by June 2027. Japan Airlines and Tokyo Century Corporation intend to maintain their respective holdings of 50% and 16.7%, respectively, in the Narita-based low-cost carrier. Cirium fleets data shows that Jetstar Japan has 19 Airbus A320ceos and three A321neos in service, plus one A320ceo in storage. The shareholders say in a joint statement issued on 3 February that there will be changes to the carrier's operations, and under a new brand, it will " proactively expand its international network, centred on the future expansion of Narita Airport". There was no indication of the financial terms of the proposed sale in the joint statement. Qantas group chief executive Vanessa Hudson says that the Australian carrier was proud of the role it has played in establishing Jetstar Japan in 2012. "We’re confident the new ownership structure will deliver greater value to customers, benefitting from the Development Bank of Japan’s domestic and international aviation knowledge and industry expertise as well as their strong, long-standing relationships with national and regional tourism bodies," she adds. Government-owned DBJ has a long history in the aircraft finance sector, and has provided debt financing to ANA Holdings, but the potential Jetstar Japan acquisition is likely to be its first major equity purchase of an airline. The potential sale closes another chapter of Qantas's pan-Asian strategy after it closed Singapore-based Jetstar Asia in July 2025. It also earlier sold its stake in Vietnamese carrier Jetstar Pacific to Vietnam Airlines, with that carrier returning to its previous Pacific Airlines branding soon after.