China Eastern Airlines has taken delivery of its first Comac C919, following certification of the aircraft by the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) in late September. The launch customer for the Chinese-made jet confirms in a 9 December statement that it has received its first C919, registered as B-919A, at Shanghai Pudong airport. China Eastern celebrated the occasion by operating a short flight to Shanghai's Hongqiao airport, where the jet was greeted by water cannons. The aircraft has 164 seats in a two-class layout, featuring eight business and 156 economy seats. China Eastern says the aircraft is equipped with 20 12in drop-down screens for entertainment. The airline plans to put the aircraft into commercial service in spring 2023. Fleets data shows that China Eastern has a total of 10 C919s on order. In August, the airline said that it expected to receive one C919 in 2022 and four in 2023.

TAP Air Portugal is running a reduced flight schedule because of a two-day strike by cabin crew members. The airline had warned last month that it would have to cancel 360 flights on 8 and 9 December due to planned strike action by cabin crew members represented by the SNPVAC union. In a recent Twitter post, TAP says that in addition to the pre-planned flight cancellations, "some disruption in the network is expected" during the two days of industrial action. The union is unhappy with a new collective labour agreement (CLA) proposed by the airline for its cabin crew members. TAP claims that it "presented the SNPVAC with concrete proposals which would justify not going on strike and which would be of great benefit to cabin crew members, but the SNPVAC did not want to present them to its members". The airline adds: "Considering that the last full revision of the company agreement for cabin crew took place in 2006 and must be updated, TAP has submitted a new negotiating proposal to the SNPVAC for negotiation. The proposal in question, however, as is normal in a process of this nature, is only a basic proposal for negotiation purposes." In a message on its Facebook page, SNPVAC describes the CLA proposed by TAP as "disrespectful", alleging that it would result in an average pre-tax salary cut of €400 ($422), rising to €1,200 for cabin supervisors. The union adds that it is "very likely" further strikes will be called in the future.

Air Madagascar has ordered three Embraer E190-E2s. Madagascar's president, Andry Rajoelina, announced the selection of the type during a ceremony in the capital Antananarivo on 7 December, Theo Wensink, airline marketing manager at Embraer said in a LinkedIn post. The first aircraft will join Air Madagascar's fleet in 2023, with two more to follow, he adds. The aircraft will be deployed on domestic routes and also have the range to operate regional connections, flying as far as Dubai, Wensink states.