South African carrier Comair is to be liquidated after failing to secure enough capital to enable it to restart flights. Comair suspended all British Airways- and Kulula-branded flights on 31 May due to a shortage of funds. It had hoped to raise sufficient capital to restart operations, but the airline's business rescue practitioners (BRPs) said on 9 June that they "had been unable to secure the capital required for the airline to recommence operations". The BRPs have therefore lodged a court application to convert rescue proceedings into liquidation proceedings. "We did our utmost to secure the funding, but when we were unable to do had no option but to lodge the application. It is an extremely sad day for the company, its employees, its customers and South African aviation," say the rescue practitioners. Comair says it faced "unforeseen headwinds" in the form of Covid-related travel restrictions and the suspension of its air operator's certificate in March while the South African Civil Aviation Authority carried out an audit. Comair operates franchise services on behalf of British Airways and the kulula.com brand.

Air New Zealand expects a loss before other significant items and taxation of less than NZ$750 million ($479 million) for the financial (FY) year ending 30 June, versus its previous estimate of a loss of less than NZ$800 million as announced on 30 March. “The airline continues to see strong passenger booking activity on short-haul and international services following the opening of the New Zealand border,” it says in a disclosure to New Zealand's Exchange today. Domestic demand has also improved in recent weeks with business-related demand returning to approximately 90% of pre-Covid levels, it adds. Air New Zealand states: “The airline remains mindful that the macroeconomic environment continues to be uncertain with disruptions caused by the impact of Covid-19 variants, continued travel restrictions in some markets, and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine contributing to high jet fuel prices.”

Turboprop manufacturer ATR expects its installed fleet in Japan to grow more than sixfold in coming years. "We see 100 ATR aircraft flying in Japan in a few years," states chief executive Stefano Bortoli. "Most of the new ATRs will replace older, less efficient models, and will connect islands and remote regions with the country's major cities." Some 15 ATRs are currently in operation with Japanese carriers. The first aircraft was delivered in 2015. Data shows that a total of 65 regional turboprops are in service in Japan. Beyond the ATRs, the fleet includes 29 De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400s, three Dash 8-200s, one Dash 8-300, seven Dornier 228s and two Viking Air DHC 6-400 Twin Otters. ANA Wings is the largest Dash 8-400 operator with 24 aircraft aged between four and 20 years. Japan Airlines subsidiary Ryukyu Air Commuter has five 5 Dash 8-400s aged four to six years. JAL Group is an ATR operator already. Nagasaki-based Oriental Air Bridge, which operates under the ORC brand, has three Dash 8-200s aged between 20 and 23 years, and will begin operating ATRs "soon". The single, 15-year-old Dash 8-300 is operated by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau. Japan's regional turboprop fleet additionally includes six domestically built NAMC YS-11s used by the nation's air force. These aircraft are aged 51-54 years. Two Saab 340Bs aged 28 years are in service with the country's coast guard. ATR shareholder Leonardo offers a maritime patrol version of the ATR 72-600. The Italian aerospace group jointly owns ATR with Airbus. Japan Air Commuter, in which JAL Group has a 60% shareholding, is the nation's largest ATR operator, with nine ATR 42-600s and two ATR 72-600s. The oldest of those aircraft is five years old. The latest, an ATR 42-600, joined the fleet in May. JAC holds options for another 14 ATR 42-600s. Hokkaido Air System, also majority-owned by JAL Group, has three ATR 42-600s. The latest joined its fleet in September. The first was delivered in 2019. Amakusa Airlines – the first Japanese ATR operator – has a single ATR 42-600. In October 2021, Japanese domestic low-cost start-up Toki Air disclosed a lease deal with Nordic Aviation Capital for two new ATR 72-600s, to enter service in early 2022. The two turboprops (MSN 1565 and 1620) are listed as having been built in 2020. ATR says that Toki Air will soon start operating its on-order turboprops. At the Dubai air show in November 2021, ATR disclosed a letter-of-intent commitment from Toki Air for two aircraft of the ATR 42-600's in-development short take-off and landing (STOL) version. which is scheduled to be certificated in late 2024. The airframer's senior vice-president of commercial Fabrice Vautier says the STOL variant will open up additional order opportunities. "We will contribute to serving even smaller airports across the Japanese archipelago: there are 10 airports in Japan with short airstrips that provide vital links for those communities," he states. In May, the airframer said it had recorded 20 commitments from international airlines and lessors for the ATR 42-600S.