Qatar Airways will deploy Boeing 787-9s for passenger flights on several routes to Europe and Asia, starting with services to Milan on 25 June. The Oneworld carrier says the aircraft will feature new business class suites and be deployed on routes to Athens, Barcelona, Dammam, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur, Madrid and Milan. In November 2020, Doha-based Qatar Airways activated 787-9s for freight-carrying flights, which had previously been delivered and then placed in storage amid the pandemic. Data shows that Qatar Airline has seven 787-9's and another 23 on order. Its fleet also includes 30 787-8's. The airline has configured its 787-9's with 311 seats, including 30 business suites. Chief executive Akbar Al-Baker states that the new business accommodation provides a "uniquely private experience", which is "becoming increasingly valuable during this pandemic". Qatar Airways says while that its 37 787's and 53 Airbus A350's provide an "ideal mix for the most strategically important long-haul routes", the carrier's 10 A380's have been grounded because "it is not commercially or environmentally justifiable to operate such a large aircraft in the current market".

\

Lufthansa will temporarily reactivate five Airbus A340-600's next summer before putting the aircraft up for sale. The German carrier's pre-pandemic A340-600 fleet consisted of 17 aircraft – 12 of which are now in the process of being sold. The remaining five widebodies will be brought out of storage in summer 2022 to operate flights from Munich to North American and Asian destinations. Lufthansa says it is temporarily bringing the aircraft back into service in response to "growing premium demand" for both business and leisure travel. The aircraft will have a four-class configuration, including eight first-class seats. The five A340's will be "temporarily reactivated and sold at a later date", says Lufthansa. The carrier adds that in late summer 2023 its first Airbus A350-900 will begin operating flights from Munich, "bolstering the premium offering".

Embraer is pressing ahead with its plans for a new turboprop airliner and is eyeing a programme launch next year. Arjan Meijer, chief executive of Embraer Commercial Aviation, says the airframer has been “more and more vocal” in recent months over its intentions for the market. “Embraer is still very much focused on the segment. We are still working on a turboprop and hope to launch the programme in 2022,” he told a 23 June webinar to celebrate the first delivery of an E195-E2 to Helvetic Airways. Last year, Embraer showed updated renderings of its design that now shares the same fuselage cross-section as its current E-Jet family. This, says Meijer, will allow it to “bring much better passenger appeal to the turboprop segment”. Service entry is likely in the 2027-28 timeframe, he says. “It will really stand apart from the products out there today.” Meijer says Embraer has also “selected the turboprop as the platform for the future”, allowing it to add “more sustainable solutions” to later iterations. That does not imply that the airframer is moving away from jets, but that it views the turboprop as an ideal fit for new power or propulsion technologies. Discussions with several potential partners on the project are “progressing well”, Meijer adds.