Unions representing pilots at IAG airline Aer Lingus have voted overwhelmingly to reject a pay increase offer of 8.5%. A total of 98% of voting members of unions Forse and the Irish Air Line Pilots' Association opted to reject the offer, with Forse commenting that the proposal “didn't reflect the sacrifices of pilots during Covid when they took reduced pay & conditions to help the airline recover.” Forsa adds that Aer Lingus has recently announced “record profits”.

Swiss regional carrier Helvetic Airways will lease four Embraer 195s under a multi-year lease agreement with Azorra. Helvetic says the additional aircraft, configured with 122 seats, were built in 2011 and are scheduled to join its fleet at the beginning of the second quarter. The carrier notes that it added two E190s to its fleet during summer 2023. "The four completely reconfigured and modernised aircraft will ideally complement our existing fleet," states Helvetic Airways chief executive Tobias Pogorevc. "They will allow us to maintain a stable flight schedule even under the current challenging conditions and guarantee our customers a high level of reliability, planning security and, above all, punctuality." With the additional aircraft, Helvetic will have four E195-E2s, eight E190-E2s, six E190s and four E195s.

The US Federal Aviation Administration is "immediately" increasing its oversight of Boeing production and manufacturing, another in a series of actions taken by the regulator in response to the 737 Max 9 door-plug blow-out event on 5 January. The disclosure of increased regulatory oversight of Boeing comes a day after the FAA said it had formally notified the airframer of the opening of an investigation into its manufacturing practices. The FAA's intensified oversight of Boeing includes an audit of the Max 9 production line and suppliers to determine the level of compliance with approved quality procedures; increased monitoring of Max 9 in-service events; and an "assessment of safety risks around delegated authority and quality oversight, and examination of options to move these functions under independent, third-party entities". "It is time to re-examine the delegation of authority and assess any associated safety risks," states FAA administrator Mike Whitaker. "The grounding of the 737-9 and the multiple production-related issues identified in recent years require us to look at every option to reduce risk. The FAA is exploring the use of an independent third party to oversee Boeing's inspections and its quality system." Boeing stated on 12 January in response to the FAA's increased oversight of its production: "We welcome the FAA's announcement and will co-operate fully and transparently with our regulator. We support all actions that strengthen quality and safety and we are taking actions across our production system." The FAA on 6 January issued an emergency airworthiness directive that ordered the grounding of certain Max 9 jets. At 12 January, 23 Max 9 jets remain in service globally, while 194 are in storage. Of the 194 Max 9s in storage, all but five of them were parked on or after 5 January 2024.