The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has activated 169 new air traffic routes along the country’s East Coast. The routes, the agency says, are "more direct, saving passengers time, airlines fuel and increasing safety". The FAA adds that the direct routes will "shave off" 40,000 miles and 6,000 minutes of travel time annually due to the shorter distances involved. "The change helps prevent delays by giving the agency more capacity to direct traffic to specific routes based on the aircraft’s destination," it says. "When weather occurs, controllers will also have more flexibility. Finally, fewer converging points and more simple flows enhance safety." The new routes operate primarily above 18,000 feet in altitude along the East Coast, as well as offshore areas over the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. The FAA says it has "sunset the legacy routes built when aircraft largely relied on ground-based radar, limiting the directness of routes, instead of GPS". Tim Arel, chief operating officer of the FAA’s air traffic organisation, states: "These significant improvements to our national airspace system are just in time for summer and will help travellers get to their destinations more efficiently." "The new routes will reduce complexity and redistribute volume across all available airspace. I’m proud of the FAA and industry’s strong collaboration on this project to get it done." The FAA says it has worked for over seven years with the industry to develop and implement the new flightpaths.

Pakistan announced on 7 August that it plans to privatise national carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). "The CCoP (Cabinet Committee of Privatisation) after deliberation decided to include Pakistan International Airlines Co. Ltd (PIACL) in the list of active privatisation projects of the ongoing privatisation programme, following an amendment in the law by the Parliament," the government states. At the meeting, the committee also gave a nod to hiring a financial advisor to “process/structure transaction” of Roosevelt Hotel in New York, an asset of PIA Investment. PIA leased out the hotel in May to New York city’s administration for $220 million for three years. The carrier posted an operating profit of PRs767 million ($2.7 million) in the first quarter ended 31 March, reversing a loss from a year ago. However, net loss attributable to came in at PRs38 billion, widening from a PRs14.3 billion loss in the year-ago period. PIA made an operating loss of PRs11.3 billion in 2022, narrowing from the year before, although its net loss of PRs88 billion widened from the year before. The carrier has 34 aircraft in its fleet, with 16 units on lease. It has 23 aircraft in service comprising 12 Airbus A320ceos, nine Boeing 777s and two ATR42s and 11 in storage, comprising five A320ceos, three ATR 72s, one ATR42 and two 777s in storage, according to fleets data. It flies to about two dozen international destinations mostly in the Middle East and also Toronto, Beijing and Kuala Lumpur, and over a dozen destinations domestically.

Turkish Airlines and Thai Airways have signed a memorandum of understanding that paves the way for joint venture operations linking Asia and Europe via Istanbul. The Star Alliance partners have agreed to “work towards” shared operations through the Turkish hub that would “maximise the synergies that this strategic partnership offers to both airlines.” As part of the agreement, signed in Turkiye earlier this month, Thai will launch a daily services in December between Istanbul and Bangkok to strengthen its position as a gateway to Asia Pacific, it says. Currently, only Turkish Airlines operates on the route. “This cooperation would enhance the efficiencies of Thai and Turkish Airlines in terms of connectivity and route network. Our customers will be able to conveniently travel between Thailand and Turkiye as well as on to Europe and other points in Asia, making full use of the extensive networks offered by Thai and Turkish Airlines,” states Chai Eamsiri, chief executive of Thai. Bilal Eksi, chief executive of Turkish Airlines, says the collaboration will “enhance connectivity between the two regions, provide seamless travel experiences, and offer passengers a wider range of destinations and services through both airlines’ networks.”