Lufthansa has become the first European Airbus A320-family operator to deploy a single-aisle with the airframer's Airspace cabin interior. Airbus says that after the German airline group, in 2018, opted to configure more than 80 new A320-family jets with the updated interior, the first A321neo has now entered service. The Airspace cabin includes slimmer sidewall panels for more shoulder space, better window views through redesigned bezels and integrated window shades, larger overhead bins, full LED lighting and lavatories with touchless controls and antimicrobial surfaces. Lufthansa Group’s head of customer experience Heike Birlenbach states: “With the new Airspace cabin, we are significantly improving the travel experience on short-haul routes and setting a new industry benchmark." In 2016, Lufthansa became launch operator of the A320neo and has since received 30 A320neos and 11 A321neos, data shows. On order are another 51 A320neos and 29 A321neos, spanning both Pratt & Whitney PW1100G- and CFM International Leap-1A-powered aircraft. Lufthansa subsidiary Swiss has received three A320neos and two A321neos, with another 14 and six aircraft on order, respectively. Brussels Airlines, another group subsidiary, has three A320neos on order. Following an initial launch of the Airspace cabin on the A350 and A330neo, Airbus disclosed in 2017 that it would roll out the concept to its single-aisle family from 2020. US carrier JetBlue Airways became the first A320-family operator to introduce the cabin on a A321LR earlier this year.

Singapore has lifted restrictions on Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 aircraft operations into and out of the country, effective today.
"The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS)] made the decision to lift the restrictions after completing its technical assessment, which included an evaluation of the design changes to the aircraft made by Boeing and approved by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other validating authorities," the regulator says in a statement today. "CAAS also reviewed the operational data of flights of the aircraft that had resumed service over the past nine months and observed that there have been no notable safety issues." Besides requirements and flight crew training stipulated by the FAA, CAAS will impose additional standards on operators. For local operators, this includes establishing a flight crew training programme approved by CAAS that comprises ground and flight training elements specified in the FAA's requirements, with additional simulator training to ensure that pilots are adequately trained on workload management when handling aircraft emergencies. Foreign airlines must comply with CAAS and the FAA's requirements, as well as other requirements of their respective civil aviation authorities. Data shows that Singapore Airlines is the only local carrier that operates the aircraft type and has six 737 Max 8's in its existing fleet. The mainline carrier has orders for another 69, comprising 57 737 Max 8's, eight Max 10's and four of unannounced variant. Eight of the 737 Max 8's on order have been assigned MSN's. Within Asia-Pacific, India and Malaysia have lifted the operational ban on the aircraft type in recent weeks, on 26 August and 2 September, respectively. In February, Australia became the first Asia-Pacific nation to allow 737 Max flights to and from the country. New Zealand followed shortly with a similar course of action but stopped short of issuing a blanket approval. In April, Fiji Airways received approval from local regulators to return the aircraft type to service. In June, the flag carrier obtained approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand to resume flights to New Zealand, following a comprehensive safety review.

Ryanair and Boeing have ended negotiations over a large follow-on order for 737 Max 10s, the two sides having been unable to reach an agreement on pricing. The low-cost carrier is currently integrating the first of a 210-strong order for Max 8200s into its fleet. It had received 12 of the jets by the first week of September. Another 55 are scheduled to join its fleet by the end of March and over 200 over the next five years, expanding the Ryanair fleet to over 600 aircraft capable of carrying over 200 million guests per year. As it plans an ambitious expansion programme in the years ahead, the airline has been in discussions for 10 months with Boeing for a large follow-on order for Max 10's. "However, last week it became clear that the pricing gap between the partners could not be closed and, accordingly, both sides have agreed to waste no more time on these negotiations," says Ryanair. Group chief executive Michael O'Leary states: "We are disappointed we couldn’t reach agreement with Boeing on a Max 10 order. However, Boeing have a more optimistic outlook on aircraft pricing than we do, and we have a disciplined track record of not paying high prices for aircraft. "We have a more than sufficient order pipeline to allow us to grow strongly over the next five years with a Boeing 737 fleet which will rise to over 600 aircraft and will enable Ryanair to capitalise on the extraordinary growth opportunities that are emerging all over Europe as the Continent recovers from the Covid pandemic." He continues: "We do not share Boeing’s optimistic pricing outlook, although this may explain why in recent weeks other large Boeing customers such as Delta and Jet2 have been placing new orders with Airbus rather than Boeing.” Speaking at a media briefing on 31 August, O'Leary said he would be surprised if a deal for Max 10s with Boeing would be reached this year but that he was "hopeful" of one in 2022. He indicated that Ryanair was looking at a Max 10 order of a similar size to its Max 8200 one, but that the number of aircraft would depend on price. "In an ideal world, if we could agree on pricing, I would certainly like to see Ryanair grow and expand at the rate of about 50 aircraft a year. So over a four- or five-year period, we should be looking at 200-250 aircraft." O'Leary sees Ryanair as being in a relatively strong position versus Boeing, based on the airframer's Max 10 order backlog. "If Boeing's orderbook takes off in the next 12-18 months, it will be less likely to have a Ryanair order… because Boeing recorded remarkably few orders for the aircraft, and they need a couple of large Max 10 orders."