Qantas Group will return five Airbus A380's to service a year ahead of schedule and plans to operate these to Los Angeles and London in the second half of 2022. The aircraft will fly between Sydney and Los Angeles from July 2022 and will from November 2022 be deployed on Sydney-London via Singapore. "These were key markets for Qantas before Covid and given how well they have recovered, we expect travel demand on these routes to be strong enough for the A380," chief executive Alan Joyce said in a speech about the company's earnings for the financial year ended 30 June. He adds that Qantas has the flexibility to bring back another five A380's by early 2024, depending on how quickly the market recovers, but its remaining two will be retired "because they will be surplus to requirements". Data shows that Qantas has 12 A380s in storage, fitted with Rolls-Royce Trent 900 powerplants. The aircraft were built between 2008 and 2011. "The A380s work well on these long-haul routes when there’s sufficient demand, and the high vaccination rates in both markets would underpin this," Qantas says. Separately, the group expects demand for nonstop service between Australia and London to be in "even higher demand post-Covid". "The airline is investigating using Darwin as a transit point, which has been Qantas’ main entry for repatriation flights, as an alternative (or in addition) to its existing Perth hub given conservative border policies in Western Australia. Discussions on this option are continuing," it says. Joyce mentions in his speech Project Sunrise – ultra-long-haul flights from Melbourne and Sydney to London and New York – without going into details. "The 10 aircraft we’re bringing back will have all-new interiors and we expect them to be part of our fleet for many years to come – alongside our Dreamliners, Airbus A330's and ultimately the Airbus A350 for Project Sunrise and non-stop flights to New York and London." Project Sunrise was put on hold due to the pandemic, scuppering initial plans to order up to 12 A350-1000's in 2020 and launch service from 2023. In the first quarter of 2021, Joyce said Qantas would revisit it at the end of the year and could launch service as early as 2024.

Delta Air Lines has converted purchase rights on an additional 30 Airbus A321neos into firm orders. It follows a similar transaction in April when the US carrier converted 25 A321neo purchase rights into firm orders and added a further 25 A321neo options. Today's announcement increases Delta's firm A321neo commitments to 155 aircraft, Airbus says. The airline holds purchase rights on an additional 70 of the type. Delta expects to take delivery of its first A321neo in the first half of 2022, with deliveries set to continue through 2027. The aircraft are powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM engines. The new aircraft will be deployed across Delta's domestic network, complementing its existing fleet of 121 A321ceos.

Ryanair will no longer serve either of Belfast's airports from October, citing the UK's air passenger duty (APD) tax and a "lack of Covid recovery incentives" from the airports. The airline confirms that it "will cease operations from Belfast International and Belfast City from the end of the summer schedule in October". It adds that the aircraft "will be reallocated to lower-cost airports elsewhere in the UK and Europe for the winter schedule, which starts in November". Ryanair says it has taken the decision "due to the UK government's refusal to suspend or reduce APD, and the lack of Covid recovery incentives from both Belfast airports". Earlier this year the Irish budget carrier had returned to George Best Belfast City airport after 11 years with the launch of eight new routes, but these were summer-only services. Belfast International airport says it is "disappointing that Ryanair has now decided to withdraw operations from the entire Northern Ireland market at the end of October, having variously had a presence in all three local airports in recent years", adding: "It has been a difficult period for aviation and a time when consumers need some stability and faith in the Northern Ireland air transport network." The airport says that, "anticipating such a move", it has "been engaging with our existing and other new airlines to provide continuity on the routes to be vacated by Ryanair". It hopes "to make announcements regarding fresh route development in the near future". Ryanair used to serve Derry too but said in December that it was cancelling flights from the Northern Irish airport. It blamed an "unexpected policy shift" by the UK Civil Aviation Authority over domestic and non-European Union flights from the UK that were operated by its Ryanair UK unit.