Blue Air confirms that one of its Boeing 737-500s has been seized by the Romanian government's tax agency, while another belonging to Air Lease Corporation is no longer part of the grounded carrier's fleet. The Romanian airline, which ceased operations on 6 September citing "an unforeseen situation" involving the seizure of its accounts by the government, has confirmed that a 737-500 registered as YR-AME and parked at Bacau airport "is subject to a seizure instituted by ANAF". Another 737-500, registered as YR-BMQ and parked at Cluj airport, "is no longer part of the Blue Air fleet, as its grounding constitutes an abuse subject to legal proceedings by the new aircraft operator". Fleets data shows that this aircraft is owned by ALC and was transferred to a new operator – a Romanian start-up called Hello Jets – on 13 October. Local reports suggest that ANAF had also attempted to seize this aircraft. ANAF declines to comment on the matter. Data shows that the aircraft Blue Air says has been seized is owned by SC Blue Air Airlines Management Solutions. The carrier is listed as having a total of four 737-500s and two 737-300s, all of which are in storage. One of the -300s is under operating lease from Pearl Aircraft Corporation.

Air New Zealand expects to operate at pre-Covid levels over the southern hemisphere summer and has bolstered fleet operations and manpower to support the surge in travel demand. The airline is adding two new domestic Airbus A321neos to the fleet, which add a further 50 additional seats per flight and has engaged charter airline Wamos Air to operate daily return Auckland-Perth services. It adds that it is continuing to return to service its Boeing 777s from long-term storage. "Air New Zealand is gearing up its resources to welcome 2.8 million passengers between 15 December 2022 and 31 January 2023, following a surge in demand for what will be the first summer holiday period since Covid restrictions eased," it states. Chief operating officer Alex Marren states: "During the same period last year, the airline carried just 1.1 million passengers, a clear indication that travel is rebounding." "Over recent weeks, we've seen a strong increase in bookings and over the summer, we'll be operating at pre-Covid levels." In the last 10 months, the airline has hired more than 1,950 operational employees, including around 1,200 cabin crew, 250 pilots, 400 airport employees and 30 engineers. By February 2023, the airline will have hired an additional 700 people, it adds. Marren adds: "Over the summer peak, we're also adding a pool of casual employees across our airports to help customers on our busiest days. Where possible, we're offering our part-time employees a full-time role."

Australia's Qantas has launched the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Coalition (SAF Coalition) programme to reduce emissions through SAF, with Australia Post, Boston Consulting Group, KPMG Australia, Macquarie Group and Woodside Energy signing on as foundation members. "Qantas has joined forces with five large companies in Australia to show the demand that exists for a local SAF industry in Australia by preferencing it as a way to reduce their carbon emissions," the carrier says in a release today. Members will pay a premium to reduce around 900t of their air carbon emissions each year by contributing to the incremental cost of SAF rather than using traditional carbon offsets. The coalition will initially contribute to the incremental cost of up to 10 million litres of SAF sourced by Qantas at London's Heathrow airport, which represents around 15% of the fuel Qantas ordinarily consumes on flights out of London, and from 2025 to a further 20 million litres each year sourced out of Los Angeles and San Francisco. Qantas says it is currently in negotiations with a number of offshore suppliers to source additional supplies of SAF, which the national carrier would prefer to source domestically. The foundation members will also receive enhanced reporting on the emissions from their flying activity and employees will get fast-tracked access to Qantas Frequent Flyer's Green Tier programme. Qantas says it will continue discussions with a number of other companies looking to join the coalition. Together with Airbus, Qantas committed in June to invest up to $200 million to get a local SAF industry off the ground, including equity funding for new feedstock and refining projects. The Qantas Group has committed to using 10% SAF in its overall fuel mix by 2030 and approximately 60% by 2050. The SAF Coalition will extend Qantas’s existing corporate offsetting programme, Future Planet, which enables companies to offset emissions through certified, high-quality projects in Australia and overseas.