Airbus added orders for 14 A321neos in February: six from Korean Air and eight from an unidentified customer. Korean had in December 2024 disclosed its intention to exercise options on six A321neos. The SkyTeam carrier now has 41 of the aircraft on order, Airbus data shows. The European airframer lists no change to Asiana Airlines' previous order for 25 A321neos. In December, Korean completed acquisition of a majority shareholding in Asiana. Beyond the A321neo deals, Airbus had no orders or cancellations in February. It delivered 37 single-aisles – 20 A321neos, 12 A320neos, four A220-300s and one A319neo – and three widebodies: two A330-900s and an A350-900. Chief executive Guillaume Faury last month said the number of A320-family deliveries would be lower in 2025's first quarter than in the same period last year because of reduced engine deliveries from CFM International. He expects the situation to normalise in the year's second half. Airbus delivered 53 A320-family jets across January and February, down from 65 in the same month last year.

Air France-KLM chief executive Ben Smith has underlined his carrier’s interest in expanding via an acquisition, indicating his ongoing interest in Air Europa or TAP Air Portugal. Speaking as part of his carrier's full-year results call on 6 March, he told investors that it would be "very nice to have" a third hub alongside Paris and Amsterdam, which would be "perhaps Lisbon or Madrid". The carrier has previously stated its interest in taking over TAP Air Portugal and is reported to be seeking a stake in Spain's Air Europa, actions which would give it greater access to the Portuguese and Spanish capital markets. "It would be very nice to have [a third hub] if we could acquire one of the two [airlines] on favourable terms," Smith adds, although he did not mention either carrier directly. The group was not looking to buy or merge for the sake of scale, he continued, but would put "significant effort" into avoiding being "marginalised in a certain market". All three of Europe's largest legacy airline groups are known to covet TAP given its strong position across the South Atlantic, with Smith himself previously commenting that the prospect of controlling those routes is "extremely powerful for us". Meanwhile, IAG recently dropped out of its bid to take control of Air Europa citing regulatory burdens. It had likewise justified the purchase on account of the Madrid-based airline's connections to Latin America. Smith went on to note the potential to develop a further hub in Copenhagen given Air France-KLM's near-20% position in SAS, which it has the right to increase to a controlling stake later on. "The financial situation which we're in is not as strong as we will be in a few years' [time]," continued Smith, underlining that it expects to have more latitude to explore acquisitions as its balance sheet recovers from the pandemic. "We are balancing out what our opportunities are in a responsible way."

Delta Air Lines has formed a partnership with US start-up developer JetZero focused on design of a blended-wing-body (BWB) aircraft with a flight range and seat capacity comparable to current mid-range international jets. The target is an aircraft 50% more fuel-efficient than today's. It would use existing engine technology, say the partners. "Delta will provide its operational expertise and will help design the interiors of the aircraft." JetZero in 2023 received an investment from the US Air Force of $235 million over a four-year period to prepare for the 2027 flight of a full-scale demonstrator of its BWB aircraft, intended to minimise noise, fuel burn and emissions. "Working with JetZero to realise an entirely new airframe and experience for customers and employees is bold and important work to advance the airline industry's fuel-saving initiatives and innovation goals," states Amelia DeLuca, chief sustainability officer at Atlanta-based Delta. "While Delta is focused on doing what we can today to address our carbon footprint, it's critical we also work with a variety of partners to advance revolutionary technologies, like JetZero's blended-wing-body aircraft, to solve for a significant portion of future aviation emissions." JetZero co-founder and chief executive Tom O'Leary notes that Delta "was one of the first carriers to partner with us, supporting us behind the scenes since 2023", and adds: "We look forward to their continued support of our programme through their deep knowledge and expertise." UK budget carrier EasyJet in September 2024 disclosed that it was partnering with JetZero to support development of a blended-wing aircraft capable of supporting hydrogen technology.