Cathay Pacific has appointed chief customer and commercial officer Ronald Lam as its chief executive, effective 1 January 2023.

Lam replaces Augustus Tang, who will retire from the Cathay Pacific Group on 31 December 2022. He will assume a new role at John Swire & Sons from 1 January 2023.

Lam will continue to serve as chair of HK Express, Cathay Pacific Group’s wholly owned low-cost subsidiary.

Cathay Pacific Group chair Patrick Healy states: “Ronald will lead the airline through its post-Covid recovery and the introduction of the Three-Runway System at Hong Kong International airport, as the airline looks to increase its passenger flight capacity and strengthen connectivity at the Hong Kong international aviation hub.” The airline has also appointed Lavinia Lau, who is director of customer travel, as its new chief customer and commercial officer, and executive director on the board of Cathay Pacific, effective 1 January 2023. Alex McGowan, director of service delivery, will be appointed chief operations and service delivery officer and also executive director on the board of Cathay Pacific, effective 1 April 2023 upon Greg Hughes' retirement from the board. McGowan will also be appointed chair of Cathay Pacific's wholly owned all-cargo airline, Air Hong Kong, replacing Hughes. Mandy Ng, currently chief executive of the Cathay Pacific Group's HK Express, will return to Cathay Pacific and succeed Alex McGowan as director of service delivery, effective 1 April 2023. Jeanette Mao, who has been general manager inflight services at Cathay Pacific, will succeed Ng as HK Express’s chief executive, effective 1 April 2023.

Pilots at Kenya Airways have called off strike action and gone back to work after a labour court ruled that they must resume their duties on 9 November. Kenya Airways has been forced to cancel dozens of flights in recent days following a strike by members of the Kenya Airlines Pilot Association (KALPA), which began at 06:00 local time on 5 November. The Employment and Labour Relations Court in Kenya ruled on 8 November that pilots must return to work at 06:00 local time on 9 November. Following the ruling, KALPA said in a statement that it "hereby withdraws the notice of industrial action", and that pilots would resume their duties as instructed. The union adds that in addition to ordering pilots to resume their duties, the court ruled that Kenya Airways must not take "disciplinary action against KALPA members". The airline had warned on 6 November that rostered pilots who did not report for duty faced disciplinary proceedings. Kenya Airways chief executive Allan Kilavuka states that the airline welcomes the court's decision and can now "resume its normal operations". He adds that the airline commits to "complying with the court's directions". The carrier had earlier said the industrial action was costing it KSh300 million ($2.5 million) a day. Kenya Airways made a first-half operating loss of KSh5 billion. "The path to recovery will be difficult and will require the airline to redouble its efforts to restructure, lower costs and increase staff productivity, as well as recover the time, money and reputation lost," states Kilavuka.

Turboprop manufacturer ATR is poised to start deliveries to Chinese operators following the Civil Aviation Administration of China's approval of the ATR 42-600's type certificate with a reduced seat count. The European airframer – jointly owned by Airbus and Leonardo – had been working for years to gain CAAC approval for its current 600-series family, after previous-generation aircraft were temporarily operated in the country. It says the CAAC approval "opens the opportunity for ATR to re-enter the Chinese market with a firm order from an undisclosed customer for three aircraft". At the Paris air show in 2017, the manufacturer disclosed separate letters of intent from Xuzhou Hantong Aviation Development and Shaanxi Tianju Investment Group, to order three and 10 ATR 42-600s respectively. At the time, ATR said it expected deliveries to begin in 2018. "Receiving CAAC's validation of the ATR 42-600 type certificate, along with a firm order, is a major achievement marking the reintroduction of ATR turboprops in China," states chief executive Nathalie Tarnard Laude, adding: "The ATR 42-600 will undoubtedly prove to be a game changer." ATR says that under the CAAC approval the aircraft will be limited to operating with a maximum 30 passengers. The ATR 42-600 can accommodate 50 passengers under its European Union Aviation Safety Agency type certificate. "The ATR 42-600 has been approved to fly for Chinese general aviation operators," the airframer says. It describes the 50-seater as an "ideal route opener". ATR predicts demand for 280 regional turboprops in China by 2041. "By 2035, we anticipate that over 150 airports will be built in China and turboprops will play a key role in creating a new network of short, thin routes, complementing the high-speed train offering," states senior vice-president of commercial Fabrice Vautier. Data shows ATR backlog comprises 183 orders, 94 options and letters of intent covering a further 109 aircraft. Of the orders, 32 are for the ATR 42-600 (including 15 for the in-development short take-off and landing variant), 130 for the ATR 72-600, 20 for the larger variant's freighter version, and one for the ATR 72-600 Combi. ATR has not provided an outlook on a potential CAAC approval of the ATR 72. "Currently, we have responded to market requirements which indicated a need for efficient aircraft operating on the general aviation segment with 30 [passengers]," it says. The first ATR entered China in 1997 with China Xinjiang Airlines, which had orders for five ATR 72-500s. The carrier was in 2003 acquired by China Southern Airlines, which continued operating the turboprops until 2010. The aircraft were subsequently sold to Nordic Aviation Capital.