Jetstar is restarting flights to Thailand with flights from Sydney to Phuket to take off today and from Melbourne on 13 January. The flights from Sydney will operate three times a week and from Melbourne at twice-weekly frequency using Boeing 787-8 aircraft, the low-cost carrier says in a 12 January statement. These flights mark the first time Jetstar has flown to Thailand flight since 26 March 2020, it says. Jetstar chief executive Gareth Evans states: “Thailand has always been one of the most popular destinations in Jetstar’s international network, and restarting flights was an important milestone in the recovery of low-cost international leisure travel.” Jetstar says it will also resume international flights to Bali, Japan and Vietnam in the first part of 2022 “as quarantine requirements in these destinations ease.”

American Airlines subsidiary Envoy Air will take delivery of three new Embraer 175 aircraft later this year. Deliveries will begin during the fourth quarter and will bring its E175 fleet to 101 aircraft by end of the year, the airline says. Envoy’s senior vice-president, air operations, Dee Temples states: “Last year we celebrated the introduction of the E175 to Miami, expanding our service to international markets and solidifying the service we provide to American’s network.”

Air France-KLM is from this week using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on all flights from France and the Netherlands, funded by a slight increase in ticket prices. The group intends to add €1 ($1.13) to economy fares for intra-European services departing its two home countries, up to €4 to intercontinental fares, and larger increases to first- and business-class fares. "This means that all passengers will have a more sustainable journey and the demand for SAF will increase drastically with the end goal to reduce CO2 emissions," states Air France-KLM. It sees SAF as a key tool in enabling the aviation industry to reach net zero by 2050, reducing the carbon footprint of flights by an average of 80% over the entire life cycle. Air France-KLM is targeting a 5% share for SAF by 2030 and 63% in 2050. "Today, SAF production worldwide covers only around 0.1% of the total fuel usage of the aviation industry. We need to speed up the production," states Fahmi Mahjoub, the group's general manager for the UK and Ireland. "And that's why we are now gradually incorporating SAF in our flights departing from France and the Netherlands as of January 2022. Since the majority of Air France and KLM passengers have a stopover or a transfer in France or the Netherlands, we are happy to offer most of our customers a more sustainable product." In addition to factoring the extra expense of SAF into ticket prices, Air France-KLM will give customers the option of purchasing SAF for their journey. SAF's is typically six times that of conventional jet fuel. The industry hopes that the gap will narrow as production increases and new technologies come online.