Air France-KLM has announced plans to increase its stake in SAS from 19.9% to 60.5% and is aiming to make the Scandinavian carrier a subsidiary by the second half of next year. The move involves acquiring the stakes held by US investment firm Castlelake (32%) and Danish family office Lind Invest (8.6%), with the state of Denmark retaining its 26.4% share and board seats. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, builds on the commercial cooperation between the two airlines that has taken place since 2024, including codeshare agreements and SAS’s integration into the SkyTeam alliance, Air France-KLM states. It is intended to unlock synergies in loyalty programmes and operations, and enhance Air France-KLM’s presence in the Scandinavian market. "We are excited to fully welcome SAS into the Air France-KLM family," says chief executive Ben Smith. "SAS’s impressive turnaround and our shared commitment to excellence and sustainability will drive enhanced connectivity for customers and growth for both airlines." Anko van der Werff, chief executive of SAS, says the deal would mark a "defining moment" for the airline and be a "strong signal of confidence in the direction we’re heading." The increased ownership stake "brings not just stability but will also allow for deeper industrial integration and the full backing of one of the world’s leading airline groups, once regulatory approval has been obtained," the SAS chief says, adding: "Together, we will be better positioned to deliver greater value to our customers, our colleagues, and the wider region." SAS will continue to invest in its fleet renewal and network expansion through the process. It believes the transaction will further its ambition to grow more sustainably, enhance customer experience, and reinforce its role in international aviation. "As global interest in Scandinavia continues to grow, we believe this consolidation strengthens SAS’ ability to connect Scandinavia with the world – and the world with Scandinavia – by positioning Copenhagen as our global hub for the region, while continuing to uphold strong and strategic operations in both Oslo and Stockholm," adds van der Werff. The deal’s value will be based on SAS’s financial performance, including EBITDA and net debt, aligning with Air France-KLM’s financial outlook. Full financial details have not been disclosed. The decision also reflects a broader industry trend toward consolidation, which SAS describes as "essential" for the long-term competitiveness for European airlines in a globalised market.

AirAsia has signed a memorandum of understanding that covers an order for 50 Airbus A321XLRs plus conversion rights for 20 more from its existing A321neo orders. The order's list-price value is $12.3 billion, and deliveries are scheduled for 2028-32, though AirAsia is hoping they could start as soon as 2027, said Tony Fernandes, chief executive of parent Capital A, during a 4 July media briefing. The agreement had been signed in Paris by Fernandes and Airbus commercial chief executive Christian Scherer, in the presence of Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is on an official visit to the French capital. "This order enables us to have a narrowbody fleet that can cover the world," says Fernandes, noting that an XLR can fly for about 8.6h, compared with 5.6h for an A321neo. "We gave people in ASEAN the opportunity to explore Asia – now we want the world to see ASEAN, and ASEAN to see the world. The A321XLR and A321LR are the game changers enabling this vision, and we are proud to lead the charge in making our world smaller," states Fernandes in a press release. With the XLRs, Fernandes explains, the carrier would operate routes from Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok to European cities and Africa with a stop in the Middle East. It can also fly to North America's east coast via Europe and the west coast via Japan or Honolulu. "We always wanted to be a narrowbody aircraft operator," he says, but this was not possible with the previous iterations of Airbus narrowbodies. The carrier has been "very, very determined to get Airbus to build us an aircraft that could really meet our ambition", he adds. "A narrowbody obviously gives us a lot less risk in terms of starting new routes, and gives us the opportunity to go to many more destinations that we couldn't have gone to before, because a 380-seat aircraft would limit the number of destinations." The latest order raises questions about AirAsia X's existing order for 15 A330neos, given its ambition to be a narrowbody operator. AirAsia also has more than 350 A321neos on order. For now, Fernandes indicates that the widebody order remains intact. He says the airline is "in discussions with Airbus on what to do with our A330 order, but no cancelations at the moment". At the same time, the Malaysian low-cost carrier is also looking to finalize, next month, another order of up to 150 aircraft with two manufacturers, says Fernandes, likely alluding to a regional jet order for which Embraer E2s and Airbus A220s are key contenders. He adds that once the order is placed, "at that point, we would complete our strategy, and we would know our direction for [the] A330". The XLR deal has been announced now rather than at last month's Paris air show because the airline was having to "deal with a lot of uncertainty" at that time, says Fernandes. "But by announcing this deal, I'm really announcing to the world that our restructuring is almost done," he adds. Capital A is currently under a distressed PN17 status on Bursa Malaysia. However, once it disposes of the aviation group, "then Capital A is virtually out of PN17, just some administrative issues and court issues." Regarding the disposal, he says Capital A has managed to get the majority of its consent letters, has raised MYR1 billion ($237 million) in capital, and is hoping to resubmit an approval request to the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission "in the next week or so". During the briefing, Fernandes expanded on the carrier's financing plans for the future, saying that while it had relied on sale-and-leasebacks, it was starting to look at other options. He reveals that the carrier is currently being rated – for the first time – by international ratings agencies, and plans to place its first bond as soon as October. "We will start to go back to ECAs, capital markets, the debt market, as I just mentioned, the bond market as well," he says, adding that the carrier is working with two ratings agencies. "And so you know, as interest rates begin to moderate, which I'm hoping they will soon – it is inevitable – then we will go back into our traditional method of owning aircraft. And of course, our cash generation is getting stronger and stronger," he says. "We went out of the finance market into the operating lease market because we thought interest rates were too high and a lot of capital in the leasing market. I think we're re-evaluating that going forward," he adds. As Fernandes details plans to reach the world with its latest order, it is for now looking to expand into Europe this year using its A330 fleet. He says Istanbul is "around the corner" while one destination in western Europe and "three or four" in eastern European are also on the list. The carrier in November 2024 launched flights from Kuala Lumpur to Nairobi but announced in June 2025 that it was cancelling the flights from September. Fernandes says the cancellation was "because of aircraft", adding: "We'll be going back next year."

Italian leisure operator Neos has confirmed introduction of its eight Boeing 737 Max 8, thereby completing a fleet renewal programme started in 2021. In addition to the Max 8s, Neos has four 737-800s, aged seven to 22 years, and six 787-9s that are between six and eight years old, Cirium fleets data shows. No further aircraft are listed on order. Two of the 737-800s – both managed by CDB Aviation – joined Neos fleet in the 2022-23 period. AerCap and FTAI Aviation each manage one of the other two 737-800s, which have been part of the carrier's fleet since 2011 and 2003, respectively. Four of the Max 8s are managed by ICBC Leasing, three by Aviation Capital Group and the other by Air Lease (ALC). AerCap manages five 787s in Neos's fleet. The other Dreamliner is managed by ALC.