ARC NEWS
Boeing reaches highest February delivery count since 2017
March 11, 2026
Boeing delivered 51 commercial aircraft last month, bringing its year-to-date tally to 97 jets on 28 February. Last month's delivery volume matched the record set in February 2017, according to Boeing data, marking a nine-year high for the month. February 2026 deliveries comprised 43 Max jets, three 787s, two 777 Freighters and three 767s (two freighters and one aircraft for Boeing's KC-46 tanker programme). The single-aisle deliveries included the last remaining Max jet that had been built prior to 2023 and since put in storage. That aircraft, a 737-8, was delivered to Shenzhen Airlines. The 97 year-to-date deliveries by 28 February span 80 Max jets, eight Dreamliners, five 777Fs and four 767s. In January and February 2025, Boeing delivered 45 and 44 aircraft, respectively, comprising a total of 72 single-aisles, nine Dreamliners, three 777Fs and five 767s. In terms of new orders, Boeing booked 21 gross orders in February this year. This includes seven Max jets and one 787 from undisclosed customers. Kazakhstan's flag carrier Air Astana additionally finalised an order for five 787-9s last month, while two 787-9s for Canadian airline WestJet and six 767s for the KC-46 tanker programme were added to Boeing's backlog. WestJet cancelled six Max orders and Boeing moved nine orders into the ASC 606 accounting category, which recognises that not all orders lead to deliveries. These changes resulted in six net orders for Boeing in February. Year-to-date orders reached a gross tally of 128 aircraft and 118 net on 28 February.


IndiGo chief steps down
March 11, 2026
Pieter Elbers has resigned from his position as chief executive of Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo, effective immediately. In a stock-market filing, parent group InterGlobe says IndiGo co-founder Rahul Bhatia will assume interim management until a permanent successor is found. A new leader will be announced in "short order", it adds. Elbers had served as chief executive since September 2022. In a letter to the board, he cites "personal reasons" for his resignation, requesting that his notice period be waived and making himself available for any handover or transition period. His tenure at IndiGo has included notable highs and lows, such as hosting IATA's annual general meeting in Delhi in June 2025, an event which Indian prime minister Narendra Modi attended to provide a keynote speech. Elbers also oversaw a significant expansion of the carrier, whose fleet grew by around 40% to around 400 aircraft under his tenure, as well as a move into long-haul flights and the signing of a codeshare partnership with Delta Air Lines. But perhaps Elbers's position could not recover from widespread groundings last December which forced the cancellation of over 2,500 flights, blamed on changes to flightcrew duty limitations. That incident forced regulators to step in and temporarily instruct the carrier to slash services. Profit before tax for the quarter fell by 78% as a result. InterGlobe's board accepted Elbers's resignation during a meeting on 10 March. Board chair Vikram Singh Mehta says that Bhatia's return to active management is intended to "strengthen the company's culture, reinforce operational excellence and deepen its commitment to delivering exceptional service". Bhatia states that he feels a "deep sense of personal commitment and responsibility" toward the airline's stakeholders. IndiGo will maintain its strategic focus on being a professionally managed and operationally reliable carrier for the Indian market, he adds.


Air NZ suspends guidance as it warns of fare and network tweaks
March 10, 2026
Air New Zealand has suspended its earnings guidance for the six months to June due to the conflict in the Middle East and warned that it may need to further increase fares and adjust its network if fuel prices remain elevated. The airline had previously guided in late February that it expected its second-half earnings to be in line with the NZ$59 million ($34.9 million) loss reported in the first half, albeit with uncertainty around the return of engines that have kept parts of its Airbus A321neo and Boeing 787 fleets grounded. It says in a 3 March market update, however, that the Iran conflict has led to "extreme volatility" in jet fuel markets, with prices "between $150 to $200 per barrel in recent days", compared to around $85 to $90 per barrel prior to the conflict. The airline also notes that the crack spread, which reflects the price premium between crude oil and jet fuel prices, has widened from around $22 per barrel to "as high as $115 per barrel". While it is 83% hedged against Brent crude prices over the second half of the fiscal year, it warns that it "remains exposed to movements in the crack spread", and thus the previous guidance is "no longer appropriate". Air NZ says that it has already started adjusting fares and is also continuing cost reduction initiatives to offset earlier identified cost pressures, but it warns that if the conflict "leads to continued elevated jet fuel costs, the airline may need to take further pricing action and adjust its network and schedule as required". That is likely to cause the airline to cut capacity in some markets, including potentially on long-haul routes which are more sensitive to rises in fuel prices. The carrier had previously guided that it expected second-half capacity to grow by 3-4% compared to a year ago, although international long-haul ASKs were expected to be flat. It also warned in February that the long-haul market was "expected to come under pressure into New Zealand winter" due to lower inbound visitors and the weaker New Zealand dollar suppressing outbound demand.


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