Airbus delivered 20 commercial aircraft and booked 36 orders in January. Deliveries included eight A321neos, six A320neos, two A319neos and two A220-300s, the airframer’s data shows. From its widebody line, Airbus delivered an A330-900 to UK carrier Virgin Atlantic Airways and an A350-900 to Starlux Airlines in Taiwan. The two long-haul aircraft are on lease from Air Lease. In January 2022, Airbus had delivered 30 commercial aircraft, including 24 A320-family jets and four A350s. Order intake in January 2023 include Delta Air Lines’ firming-up of 12 A220-300 options, Uzbekistan Airways’ order for eight A320neos and four A321neos, one A320neo order by DAE Capital, and an order for six A320neos and six A321neos by an undisclosed customer. One A320neo order has been cancelled from the airframer’s backlog. Airbus will publish its 2022 financial results on 16 February.

Air New Zealand and Embraer will support each other’s initiatives to accelerate the development and launch of sustainable aircraft. The flag carrier will join Embraer’s Energia Advisory Group, joining more than 20 other airlines in the programme first launched in 2021 with the goal of developing 19- or 30-seat aircraft for regional markets. The Brazil-based manufacturer will focus the group’s efforts on developing both a hybrid-electric aircraft, which could reach technology-readiness by the early 2030s, and a hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered aircraft it aims to develop by 2035. Embraer will also support Air New Zealand’s Mission Next Gen Aircraft initiative to develop zero emissions aircraft technologies and infrastructure to support their operation, Embraer Commercial Aviation chief executive Arjan Meijer states. “Smaller, regional aircraft are going to be the first platforms on which new fuel and propulsion systems can be introduced effectively,” Meijer says. “Embraer looks forward to contributing to Air New Zealand’s initiative and also adding their expertise and requirements into Embraer’s Energia project.” Air New Zealand’s fleet includes 23 De Havilland Canada Dash 8-300 turboprop aircraft, fleets data shows. The carrier aims to replace these with zero-emission regional aircraft by around 2030. Swedish electric airplane developer Heart Aerospace will assist the flag carrier with that goal, joining Airbus, ATR, and Universal Hydrogen as a partner in the Mission Next Gen Aircraft effort. Heart is developing the ES-30 battery-powered propeller plane, which is designed to seat 30 passengers. The initial version of the regional ES-30 aircraft, which it aims to certificate and deliver by 2028, will be a hybrid-electric aircraft. That design would have a flight range of 200km (108nm) for zero-emissions relying only on battery power, while it could have an extended range of 400km with 30 passengers by using both gasoline and electric power. Future designs would extend the range of battery-powered flight. Investors in Heart include Air Canada, Mesa Air Group, and United Airlines Ventures.

Moody's Investors Service has assigned a "Ba3" senior secured rating to a planned refinancing of a term loan B facility issued by American Airlines. The amount of the new term loan, issued on 6 February, is expected to be $1 billion, and the US rating agency says it expects the proceeds of this financing, along with the proceeds of a potential issuance of pari passu senior secured debt secured by the same collateral as the term loan B, to be used to refinance American's existing $1.8 billion term loan B issued in 2013 and due to mature in 2025. The company's South American slots, gates and routes are the collateral for the existing term loan and will also be used to secure the new financing. The "B2" corporate family rating and the stable outlook assigned to American Airlines Group, the parent of American, are unaffected by the refinancing, Moody's adds. Separately, Fitch Ratings has revised American Airlines' rating outlook to "positive" from "stable" and affirmed its issuer default rating at "B-". Fitch has also affirmed American's senior secured debt at "B'/'RR3", which applies to the company's proposed term loan B. The rating agency says the positive outlook reflects the airline's progress towards deleveraging its balance sheet and a "supportive supply/demand environment" that is likely to produce improved profitability in 2023. Fitch states that "modest" capital spending provides American with capacity to execute its deleveraging plans and says the Oneworld carrier may warrant a higher rating in the next six to 12 months absent weaker-than-expected results potentially driven by macroeconomic factors. Fitch has also affirmed its "BB" ratings on the $10 billion in financing co-issued by American's AAdvantage loyalty frequent flyer programme.