Madagascar Airlines has disclosed that its financial situation is "critical", and plans to address this with a temporary suspension of long-haul services and refocusing on its domestic network. The creation of Madagascar Airlines as a merger of Tsaradia and Air Madagascar was announced in 2021 amid the launch of a restructuring plan. In the last nine months of 2022, the carrier accumulated losses of about $25 million, and it expects to report "approximately the same" for the same period this year, it says. It adds that debts have "significantly worsened" over an 18-month period, to reach $36 million. The losses are attributed by the airline to its attempts to maintain a long-haul operation through wet-lease arrangements and the high price of fuel. The combination of the wet-lease expenditure and the cost of fuel has resulted in monthly losses of $2.8 million. "Heavy operating losses on the long haul... quickly dried up the company's cash flow, leading to the impossibility of paying our suppliers, including for the purchase of parts and maintenance equipment," says the airline, noting that this "had the effect of triggering a vicious circle". Delays in maintenance have rendered a large portion of the ATR turboprop fleet unavailable, leading to numerous delays and cancellations. Madagascar Airlines has appointed Mamy Rakotondraibe as board chair and it is looking to implement a new business plan called Phoenix 2030. The carrier asserts that profitability, development and renewal are within its reach provided that ambitious but reasonable fleet and investment choices are made. While a "temporary" suspension of European long-haul flights has been decided upon, the airline will continue to maintain its international codeshare with French operator Corsair. Madagascar Airlines plans to "restore the fundamentals" by shifting its focus to the domestic network, restructuring the ATR fleet, and replenishing its maintenance capabilities. Fleets data lists Tsaradia as having four ATR 72-500s in service or storage: two leased from Abelo and two from Falko. The domestic operator has two ATR 72-600s in service – both leased from Abelo – and three more on order. Madagascar Airlines' chief executive Thierry de Bailleul describes the suspension of long-haul services as a "necessary evil" that will enable it to "straighten out" its accounts without the need for public funds. "By refocusing on the domestic network for a few months, Madagascar Airlines will be able to redress its accounts and regain profitability," he adds. The carrier will resume long-haul services "within a few months" once it is in position to operate dry-lease flights, de Bailleul predicts.

Korean Air chairman Walter Cho admits that the decision for Asiana Airlines to sell its cargo arm to secure merger approval from the European Commission was one that "hurts" but is looking to clear remaining approvals from competition regulators in 2024. Speaking at the Airline Economics Growth Frontiers conference in Singapore, Cho says the flag carrier's decision to acquire compatriot Asiana that began three years ago has "been very tough". "If I had knew it was this difficult, I would have had second thoughts about it," Cho says. Korean Air's acquisition of Asiana is pending competition approvals from the European Commission, the USA and Japan. "We certainly gone through the biggest milestone yet with the European Commission," Cho says, referring to Asiana's recent approval of a plan to sell its cargo unit after the conclusion of the merger with Korean Air. Commenting on Asiana's board approval to sell its cargo unit, Cho says the divestment "wasn't an easy decision" and that "it hurts". "But [in] long term, I made a promise to our people, our company, and Asiana, and they high hopes for it, so I had to do what had to be done… [For] the bigger picture, I had to do what I had to," he says, adding that he believes the airline "can make up for it later on". "US and European [competition regulators] have very different demands, and we're meeting all of them as best we can, hopefully it's satisfactory for them. [It's the same thing with Japan], they asked for their own remedies and we've met that also. They are just waiting for us on the cargo side [for] the remedy plan which will happen next year." "I'm very positive that we've done everything they've asked for and beyond and this deal will go through… probably next year, we'll get everything completed," he adds.

Taiwanese carrier EVA Air has ordered 18 Airbus A350-1000s and 15 A321neos from the European airframe. In a filing to Taiwan's stock exchange, the airline says the order, approved by its board on 7 November, has a total value that will not exceed $10.1 billion. Unit prices for the A350s and A321neos will not exceed $436 million or $150 million respectively, EVA adds. A350s are powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWBs, while customers for A320neo-family jets can opt between CFM International Leap-1A and Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines. Separately, EVA has disclosed that it will extend leases on 12 A321ceos with BOC Aviation. The airline says the "total right-of-use asset amount" is NT$5.3 billion ($165 million). Fleets data shows that EVA has 19 CFM International CFM56-powered A321s, including 12 on lease from BOC Aviation. Another two are managed by Bocomm Leasing, two by Jackson Square Aviation, and one each by AerCap, SMBC Aviation Capital and Merx Aviation. Aged between seven and nine years, the BOC Aviation-managed aircraft are the youngest A321s in EVA Air's fleet. The oldest is 10 years old. EVA's fleet additionally includes 12 GE Aerospace CF6-powered A330s, 13 787s with GEnx-1Bs, 34 Boeing 777-300ERs, and eight 777 Freighters. GE90 engines exclusively power 777-300ERs and 777Fs. The carrier has another 13 787s and one 777F on order.