Former IndiGo chief commercial officer Sanjay Kumar has been appointed as executive director at SpiceJet to lead the airline's expansion and transformation. The carrier says that Kumar will report directly to chairman and managing director Ajay Singh and brings over 15 years of experience at its key rival in commercial, strategy and revenue roles, as well as leadership positions at InterGlobe Technology Quotient and as chief operating officer at AirAsia India. "We are delighted to welcome Sanjay back to the SpiceJet family," says Singh. "His deep understanding of the aviation business and proven leadership will be invaluable as we chart a new course for SpiceJet. With his strategic insights and executional strength, we are confident of accelerating our growth journey and strengthening our position as a leading and customer-centric airline."

The Australian government will provide a new A$60 million ($39 million) commercial loan to Regional Express Holdings secured by its fleet under the deal struck with US company Air T to acquire it and exit administration. Transport minister Catherine King says in a 4 November statement that the government will carry forward around A$90 million of existing debt in addition to the new loan, while Air T will contribute A$50 million to recapitalising it. The debt carried forward will be "on terms that allow for gradual repayments through a profit-sharing arrangement", a factsheet from the government states. "In exchange for this financing and to ensure value for taxpayer money, Air T has agreed to a range of commitments aimed at preserving essential regional aviation connectivity and improving governance arrangements," King says. She adds that the government will secure the new loan against all of Rex's aircraft and simulator. "This will ensure Rex’s Saab fleet cannot be sold without the Government’s permission and will continue to service communities across regional and remote Australia," says King. Cirium fleets data shows that Rex has 36 Saab 340Bs in service and 21 in storage, with 35 under finance leases and 22 owned unencumbered by the carrier. The government has been a major contributor to Rex since it fell into administration in July 2024, having acquired A$50 million in secured debt from PAG Capital Asia, and having provided facilities up to A$110 million to support its continuing regional operations. Separately, King also announced a A$5 million programme to support regional and remote airports that have supported the carrier through its administration process. The announcement was welcomed by the Australian Airports Association, whose chief executive Simon Westaway says that many airports have been operating at a loss and the support will assist them. "We also welcome the Government’s commitment to safeguarding regional connectivity through the restructure of Rex’s existing debt, the provision of new financing to support the airline’s recapitalisation, and the decision to retain security over Rex’s aircraft and simulator fleet," he adds. "By securing Rex’s Saab fleet for continued service to regional and remote communities, the Government has taken a practical step to safeguard essential air links and reinforce confidence in the future of regional aviation."

Ryanair Group chief executive Michael O'Leary has praised Boeing's performance over the past several months as the US airframer ramped up production of 737 Max 8 jets. The airline has now received 23 of 29 deliveries planned for this year. The aircraft were originally scheduled to arrive by the start of the summer. Two more are set to arrive in November and four in January and February next year. That should take annual passenger numbers for fiscal 2026, which runs to end-March, up to 206-207 million, against 200 million in fiscal 2025. Arrival of the Max 8s will complete the deliveries from a 210-strong order for the variant, which should enable Ryanair to reach a milestone 215-216 million passengers in fiscal 2027. "That will be the first year since the Max groundings [in 2019] that we're not dealing with Boeing delivery delays in the spring or disruption to our summer schedule," said O'Leary during a financial results call on 3 November. He particularly praises Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief executive Stephanie Pope and group chief Kelly Ortberg as doing a "terrific job" in driving up timelines and the quality of deliveries, including receiving permission from the US Federal Aviation Administration in October to raise the monthly delivery rate from 38 to 42. O'Leary expects this to increase further to 46 in March-April next year. O'Leary previously complained extensively about Boeing's performance, both concerning delays to the delivery of new aircraft and production quality. Back in March 2024, he told Cirium this included basic errors like spanners being found under floorboards and absent armrests on seats, things which "shouldn't be missing when you're buying a $100 million piece of kit". He revealed at the time that the airline has a team of engineers on the ground in the USA to examine aircraft before delivery, with another 48h of inspection taking place when they arrived in Dublin. Fast forward two-and-a-half years and O'Leary is so confident that the 737 Max 10 will be certified by the end of the first quarter 2027 at the latest, ahead of Ryanair's first 15 scheduled Max 10 deliveries in spring of that year, that Ryanair has already approached the markets to hedge its US dollar requirements for those aircraft. "All of the deliveries on the ground in terms of quality and what they are delivering to us has been nothing but impressive for the past three or four months," says O'Leary. The arrival of the first 15 Max 10s should, Ryanair believes, enable it to grow to around 225 million passengers in fiscal 2028 and then be "off and running" on a decade-long growth spurt to 300 million passengers by 2034. Ryanair has 150 Max 10s on order and taken another 150 options for the variant.