Russian flag carrier Aeroflot has reportedly purchased eight Airbus A330-300s from non-Russian leasing companies, but it remains unclear from which lessors they have been acquired. Aeroflot has 12 A330-300s in its fleet, including three on lease from AerCap and one managed by Goshawk as part of its SJETS 2017-1 asset-backed securities portfolio. An additional three aircraft are managed by undisclosed brokers, banks or lessors, according to fleets data. Aeroflot said on 13 May that it had bought eight A330s from foreign leasing companies "as part of the fulfilment of contractual obligations", according to a same-day Reuters report. It did not state from which lessors it purchased the widebodies. Goshawk said on 16 May that it has not sold its A330-300 (MSN 1264) to Aeroflot. The aircraft, it adds, is one of six excluded from the sale of Goshawk to SMBC Aviation Capital, the close of which was announced on 16 May. Under the deal, SMBC Aviation Capital will acquire "substantially all" of its commercial aircraft leasing business, excluding any assets leased to Russian airlines. Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February led to wide-ranging sanctions from the West. Shortly after the invasion, the European Union gave lessors until 28 March to wind up aircraft lease contracts in Russia. Some aircraft were repossessed, but most remain in Russia and the prospects for lessors reclaiming them are dim. Finance leased aircraft look to be in a better position than operating leased aircraft. On 8 April, the European Union published amendments to its sanctions stating that lessors could collect payments on financial leases concluded before 26 February 2022 and could transfer ownership of the aircraft to the Russian airline "after full reimbursement of the financial lease". AerCap's chief executive Aengus Kelly said on 30 March during an analyst call that his company would "vigorously pursue" its claims for compensation relating to its aircraft that were on lease to Russian carriers.

United Airlines expects its total revenue per available seat mile (TRASM) in the second quarter will be up 23-25% compared with the pre-pandemic second quarter of 2019, an improvement on its previous guidance of up 17% versus 2019. A tightening of United's capacity in the second quarter serves as a backdrop for the Chicago-based carrier's improved revenue outlook and passengers' willingness to pay higher fares amid escalating fuel prices. The airline on 21 April forecast that its capacity in the second quarter would be down 13% versus the same period in 2019. United disclosed in a filing on 16 May to the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it now expects its capacity in the second quarter will be down 14%. "In the period following the company's previous guidance, the demand environment has continued to improve, resulting in a higher unit revenue outlook for the second quarter 2022," the US major states. "The price of oil has also continued to increase, resulting in a higher expected fuel price for the second quarter 2022." Patrick Quayle, United’s senior vice-president of international network and alliances, said during a media briefing on 25 April that the carrier no longer sees an obvious connection between Covid-19 infection rates and travel demand. "Throughout this whole pandemic, anytime cases would go up you could see bookings go down, as with the delta and Omicron variants," Quayle said on 25 April. "We do not see that anymore. There's no more of that relationship or that correlation."

The US Federal Aviation Administration plans to gradually change its certification of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft with a nearer-term adjustment on pilot training. Start-ups that have already applied for certification are not expected to be delayed by the transition, the FAA says. The gradual shift planned by the FAA for certification of "powered-lift" aircraft, including eVTOLs and the pilots who operate them, is aimed at "providing a simpler pathway for applicants to obtain the necessary FAA approvals", the regulator says. It adds: "The agency is pursuing a predictable framework that will better accommodate the need to train and certify the pilots who will operate these novel aircraft. "Our process for certifying the aircraft themselves remains unchanged. All of the development work done by current applicants remains valid and the changes in our regulatory approach should not delay their projects." Noting that existing regulations were designed for "traditional airplanes and helicopters", the FAA says: "These regulations did not anticipate the need to train pilots to operate powered-lift, which take off in helicopter mode, transition into airplane mode for flying, and then transition back to helicopter mode for landing." It adds: "Rulemaking will eventually be required to comprehensively include powered-lift in the FAA’s regulatory framework." In the short-term, the FAA plans to type certificate powered-lift aircraft as a "special class" through an existing regulation entitled "Type Certification of Very Light Airplanes", using performance-based airworthiness standards contained in Part 23 of regulations for small airplanes. "This 'special class' process is designed to address the many novel features of unique aircraft such as these emerging powered-lift designs," the FAA says. Joby Aviation is among eVTOL start-ups that aims to certificate its aircraft through the FAA's Part 23 regulations. In March, the US Department of Transportation's inspector general announced an audit of the FAA’s certification process for urban air mobility (UAM) vehicles at the request of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The DOT announcement states that eVTOL aircraft "include new technology and novel systems compared to current small aircraft, requiring additional scrutiny during the certification process", so the audit is aimed at "ensuring the safety of novel features and providing guidance to applicants".