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.

Thai Airways International is in process of returning to service three Airbus A330s previously earmarked for sale, to meet capacity needs, and is exploring the viability of reactivating some of its A380s. Chief commercial officer Korakot Chatasingha told media during the Assembly of Presidents of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines event on 11 November that the airline had so far returned one of the three A330s. The flag carrier expects to return two more to operation in December-January, bringing its total in-service fleet to 66 aircraft, including 20 A320s operated by subsidiary Thai Smile. This timeline represents a slight delay from Thai's fourth-quarter target for the A330s, which Korakot links to a manpower shortage delaying maintenance. Korakot says capacity for 2023 "is very limited as the market is surging". The airline is therefore seeking to meet that demand by bringing back some aircraft it originally intended to sell. In Thai's current fleet of 44 aircraft, A350-900s and 777-300ERs constitute the two main types, numbering 12 and 17 respectively. The remainder of the fleet comprises six 787-8s, two 787-9s, four 777-200ERs and three A330-300s, including the one already returned to service. Korakot also indicates that Thai is looking at 777-200ERs as a back-up option for cargo. Additionally, Thai is also exploring the viability of returning to service its A380s, which it previously earmarked for sale, although any reactivation is unlikely to happen soon. "We are starting to [gather] details on the cost effectiveness of [operating the] A380s," Korakot says. Thai has six A380s in storage, two of which it owns and four of which it had been negotiating to return to lessors. Korakot says the airline is studying the feasibility of operating the two owned A380s. Thai's chairman of the plan administrators Piyasvasti Amranand indicated that the airline was looking at the A380s to serve popular long-haul destinations such as London, currently served with Boeing 777-300ERs, currently the largest aircraft in the fleet in terms of seat count. Without A380s, Piyasvasti says Thai's ability to increase the number of passengers on this route is constrained with the 777-300ERs, with cabin factor at "over 90%". He says any switch is "probably unlikely to be 2024". Additionally, in 2023 Thai is also exercising the option to lease aircraft to bolster fleet capacity, in accordance with its rehabilitation plan, which spells out yearly quotas for introduction of aircraft to the fleet between 2023 and 2025. Piyasvasti says the airline has signed leases for two A350s, to be delivered around the second quarter, and letter of intent for another two, for which it hopes to sign the contract "soon", and which will also be delivered in the same quarter. This will bring Thai's fleet to 70 aircraft, including 20 A320s operated by Thai Smile, by the middle of 2023. Thai "is negotiating with a number of lessors" for one more widebody to be delivered in the second half of 2023, and is open to any twin-aisle types, Piyasvasti indicates.