Korean Air will resume multiple services to China and Japan that were suspended due to the pandemic, as its ASK capacity on international routes reached about 82% of pre-Covid levels in July. The carrier will reinstate five weekly flights between Seoul Incheon and Changsha from 19 July, and thrice and four times weekly services to Wuhan and Weihai from 24 and 27 September, respectively. On its Japan network, the airline will resume services from Busan to Fukuoka and Nagoya on 27 September, operating twice daily and daily, respectively. "Korean Air is also expanding its international flight operations to meet rising international travel demand through flight frequency increases. Starting from July, the airline has increased frequencies and reinstated flights on its extensive global network,” it says. In July, flights on the Seoul Incheon-Ulaanbaatar route will be increased from seven to eight times a week, and to 10 weekly flights for August. The airline in July also boosted flights between Seoul Incheon and Sapporo from seven to 11 times a week, and to Bali from nine to 11 times a week by the end of August. On its North American network, Korean Air has increased the number of flights between Seoul Incheon and Chicago to seven times a week from five, to Dallas from four to five times a week and to San Francisco from seven to nine times per week. In Europe, the airline has increased flight frequencies on the Incheon-Frankfurt route from five to seven times a week, and on the Incheon-Milan route from three to four times a week.

Pilots at United Airlines, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), have reached an agreement in principle (AIP) with the Chicago-based airline's management. "This landmark agreement marks a significant milestone for United pilots and includes substantial improvements to compensation, as well as advancements in quality of life, vacation, and other benefits," ALPA states. The AIP will result in approximately $10 billion in value over the life of the contract, ALPA adds. "Items included in the comprehensive and robust package are improvements to critical aspects such as quality of work-life, compensation, job security, work rules, retirement, benefits, and more," it says. In the weeks ahead, negotiators will work to complete the final language, ALPA says. Once completed, the United Master Executive Council (MEC) will subsequently review the language and vote to determine if the AIP becomes a tentative agreement, which would then be distributed to the entire pilot group for membership ratification, "ensuring that every pilot has a voice and the opportunity to shape their future". ALPA says that in the coming weeks, the United MEC will continue to distribute additional pilot communications, providing "comprehensive information and addressing questions or concerns ahead of the MEC's deliberations". Garth Thompson, chair of the United ALPA MEC, states: "This agreement in principle could not have happened without the steadfast resolve of the 16,000 United pilots. The tireless dedication demonstrated by United pilots over the past several years ensured our solidarity which was instrumental in achieving this historic agreement." Last year, United's pilots voted to reject a tentative agreement on terms for a new contract nearly six months after their union had first signed an agreement in principle. United Airlines forecasts that, including its recruiting efforts begun last year, it is on track to add 50,000 new employees through 2026, including pilots. The US major hired more than 2,300 pilots in 2022, an 85% increase versus 2021. It plans to add around the same number in 2023. Earlier this year, pilots at Delta Air Lines approved a new contract, which was effective 2 March and includes more than $7 billion in cumulative pay increases over four years. That agreement runs through December 2026. More recently, in May, American Airlines and its pilots represented by the Allied Pilots Association (APA) came to an in principle agreement on a new four-year collective bargaining agreement.

Etihad Engineering has completed its first post-Covid Airbus A380 heavy check for its parent carrier, which is preparing to return the type to service. The Middle Eastern maintenance provider shared that it has delivered the first A380 (registered A6-APG) back to Etihad Airways after a six-year check, and begun work on a second (A6-APH). Fleets data shows that a third (A6-API) returned to Etihad's Abu Dhabi base on 17 July, following a two-month visit to Chinese city Xiamen, where Hong Kong-based MRO provider HAECO has a facility. A fourth (A6-APJ) is still in Xiamen. Etihad Airways has been contacted for comment. In December 2022, the carrier disclosed a plan to reactivate four of its 10 A380s from this year's summer season. The fleet had been placed in storage amid the pandemic in 2020. A6-APG and A6-API are scheduled to re-enter service with Etihad on 25 July. A6-APH and A6-APJ will follow suit in September and November, respectively. The four reactivated aircraft – all built in 2016-17 – are Etihad's youngest A380s. The first in the Engine Alliance GP7200-powered fleet was delivered to the carrier in 2014. A6-APG and A6-APH are managed by Natixis Transport Finance, and their leases are scheduled to expire in 2029. All the other A380s in Etihad's fleet are owned by the carrier. Etihad Engineering says the check on A6-APG included rear-spar and frame modifications, off-wing inspections of all four engines, component maintenance, and removal and servicing of the aircraft's entire cabin interior featuring 405 economy, 70 business and nine first-class seats plus two private compartments dubbed "The Residence". The aircraft arrived in Abu Dhabi in March, having been taken out of storage at Spanish airport Teruel in January and subsequently ferried to Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrenees in France. A6-APH was removed from storage in Teruel in May and arrived in Abu Dhabi from Tarbes in June. A6-API exited storage in Tarbes in May and was ferried to Xiamen, while A6-APJ was in storage at Teruel until earlier this month. "The Etihad Engineering team has built formidable experience and expertise over the years on the A380 platform," states senior vice-president airframe services Haytham Nasir, citing the MRO provider's track record of having carried out "the world's first 12-year check on an A380, as well as complex structural modifications, landing-gear changes, cabin refurbishment and numerous heavy maintenance programmes for customers from Asia, Europe, Australia, the Middle East and the Far East". Etihad Engineering is a partner of Airbus for A380 support.