Philippines-based carrier Cebu Pacific plans to power its latest A320neo delivery from China with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The airline took delivery of the aircraft on 30 June from the manufacturer's final assembly line in Tianjin and plans to operate the delivery flight to Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila with a 41% SAF blend. The 188-seat aircraft marks its eighth aircraft delivery for this year out of a total of 15 for 2023. Cebu Pacific has been using blended SAF on delivery flights of its A320-family jets and A330neos from Airbus's Toulouse and Hamburg facilities. It ordered 10 new Neos in 2023 to support its plan to transition to an all-Neo fleet by 2028. Moreover, the airline is also receiving five additional aircraft via a long-term lease.

South African Airways will start flights to Sao Paulo, Brazil, from Cape Town and Johannesburg. The carrier says it will operate twice-weekly flights each from Cape Town and Johannesburg from 31 October and 6 November, respectively. This marks its first intercontinental route since the airline returned to the skies in September 2021 after an intensive business rescue process and the Covid-19 lockdown.

Hong Kong Airlines has introduced the first of three Airbus A330-300s as it continues its recovery and expands its network. The newly added, 292-seat A330 entered service on a flight to Bangkok on 21 June, the carrier says, with the other two to be added over the northern summer season. This will allow it to upgrade capacity on several routes to Japan, Bangkok, Shanghai and Taipei. Fleets data shows that Hong Kong Airlines now operates 10 Airbus A320ceos and five A330-300s, while it has a further 15 aircraft in storage. Chairman Hou Wei says that the airline is benefiting from strong demand and is accelerating the rollout of its route network. "During the recent Dragon Boat Festival holiday, our ticket sales were strong, reaching a peak since the pandemic began," he says. "The load factor even exceeded pre-pandemic levels by 7%, the result is quite encouraging, as our profitability has significantly improved, and it also demonstrates our flight resumption efforts this year continue to gain traction. We will accelerate the recovery of flights and expand the coverage of our flight destination network." The airline will resume service to Sanya on 1 July and inaugurate a new service to Nagoya on 8 July. Data shows that the carrier is now operating 360 return flights per week. Its largest routes by seat capacity are from Hong Kong to Bangkok, Shanghai Pudong and Tokyo Narita.