The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and Boeing assembled an aircraft evaluation group (AEG) which met in Zhoushan on 14 September to review Boeing 737 Max operation and training specifications, an indication of a possible return of the 737 Max to service. “[It is expected that] after the questions raised at the meeting are resolved, CAAC will release the revised version of the ‘Boeing 737 Aircraft Evaluation Report’, marking that China is nearing completion of the procedure necessary for the 737 Max [to return to service], the regulator says in a Chinese-language statement dated 20 September. The full-time aircraft operation reviewers from the flight standards department of the CAAC and the aircraft review centre of the Academy of Aviation Science participated in the review. Airline flight and maintenance technical experts were also invited to the meeting, as well as the chief operation inspectors and chief maintenance inspectors of regional administrations, and some personnel from Boeing China. Like many other jurisdictions, China grounded the 737 Max in March 2019 following the crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 on 10 March 2019, less than five months after a Lion Air jet of the same type crashed.

American Airlines will add its new Flagship Suite premium seating on all Airbus A321XLR and Boeing 787-9 deliveries beginning in 2024 and will also add redesigned aircraft interiors for its long-haul fleet. Flagship Suite seats will offer customers a private premium experience with a privacy door, a chaise lounge seating option and more personal storage space, the US major says. American's 787-9 aircraft will have 51 Flagship Suite seats and 32 premium economy seats, and A321XLRs will feature 20 Flagship Suite seats and 12 premium economy seats. The Fort Worth-based carrier will also be retrofitting 777-300ERs to include Flagship Suite seats. These 20 aircraft will be refreshed with the new interiors starting in late 2024. American will also retrofit its Airbus A321T fleet to align those 16 aircraft with the rest of its A321 fleet. The airline says it will continue to offer lie-flat seats on its transcontinental routes departing New York and Boston along with its "Northeast alliance" partner, JetBlue Airways.

Brazilian carrier Azul intends to remove another 12 Embraer 195s from its operation by the end of next year, bringing to 22 the number of E195s exiting its fleet. The removal of the 22 aircraft represents a 40% reduction of its E195 fleet compared with 2019 and "a significant acceleration in its fleet transformation plan", Azul states. Data shows that Azul's Embraer fleet currently comprises 50 E195s and eight E195-E2s in service plus two E190s and one E195-E2 in storage. It has 59 E195-E2s on order. The carrier's E195s have an average age of 9.9 years. The just-disclosed exit of the 12 E195s is related to a recently negotiated sale of five aircraft to lessor Azorra Aviation, plus leases ending for four aircraft, the conversion of three aircraft to Class F freighters, and debt reduction, Azul says. "This announcement demonstrates our ability to accelerate the phaseout of previous-generation Embraer E1s," states Azul finance chief Alex Malfitani. "The exit of the E1s gives us the opportunity to advance the delivery of next-generation E2, further expanding our margins given the E2’s 26% lower seat cost compared to the E1." Separately, Azul disclosed on 16 September that it had taken delivery of its first Airbus A350 and planned to add two more A350s to its fleet by year-end. Chief executive John Rodgerson states that the A350s are intended to replace Azul's A330ceos. Schedules data for Azul gives a placeholder date of 15 October for the start of leases on four A350s owned and managed by AerCap. Azul has eight A330ceos in its fleet, with an average age of 18.9 years, fleets data shows.