Thai AirAsia X on 17 May filed for a rehabilitation process with the Thai Central Bankruptcy Court and has begun preparations to initiate it. The carrier intends to revamp its administration process and restructure debts, delivering greater efficiency and a solid platform for robust future growth after weathering the Covid-19 pandemic, it says in a statement today. The process will have no impact on passengers as operations will continue as usual and Thai AirAsia X prepares to reintroduce flights to South Korea and Japan from June 2022 onwards, it adds. Moreover, there will be no impact or any effect on Thai AirAsia and Asia Aviation, which are separate entities with discrete operations and routes. Once the Thai Central Bankruptcy Court grants its order for Thai AirAsia X to enter into the rehabilitation process, the carrier will draft a rehabilitation plan and bolster its liquidity to ensure it operates at full capacity. Progress on the airline's rehabilitation process will be reported periodically. Chief executive Patima Jeerapaet states: "Thai AirAsia X also has further plans for expansion and will be adding flight frequencies and new routes in line with demand."

The China Eastern Airlines MU5735 crash in March may have been caused by intentional action, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing people familiar with US officials' preliminary assessment of the fatal incident. Data from a recovered flight recorder suggests inputs to the controls pushed the flight into a near-vertical descent at extreme speed, the 17 May article states. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which in April led a team to China to support official investigations into the crash, has referred questions to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). NTSB says: "The NTSB has assisted the Civil Aviation Administration of China with their investigation of the China Eastern 737 crash. The NTSB doesn’t comment on investigations led by other authorities. All information related to that investigation will be released by the CAAC." The China Eastern Boeing 737-800 was en route from Kunming to Guangzhou when it crashed into the mountains at Wuzhou, Guangxi province on 21 March. None of the 123 passengers and nine crew members survived. The aircraft bore registration B-1791, MSN 41474, and was delivered new to China Eastern Airlines in June 2015. The cockpit-voice and flight-data recorders were subsequently recovered and found to be badly damaged. Per ICAO's requirements, CAAC released a preliminary report on 20 April, 30 days from the incident. According to CAAC's report, the aircraft took off at 13:16 from Kunming and reached cruising altitude of 8,900m (29,200ft) at 13:27, which was maintained when it entered Guangzhou's air traffic control area at 14:17. About three minutes later, Guangzhou's air traffic controllers issued a warning at 14:20:55 that the aircraft was deviating from the assigned altitude but received no response from the crew. The aircraft eventually lost contact and its last known radar signal at 14:21:40 stated an altitude of 3,380m, ground speed 1,010km/h. CAAC said in the preliminary report: "Investigations revealed that the qualifications of the flight crew, cabin crew, and maintenance personnel met requirements. The aircraft's airworthiness certificate was valid and maintenance checks were completed on schedule." The regulator stated that none of the cargo onboard had been declared as dangerous goods, and there were no forecasts of bad weather. Before the aircraft deviated from the cruising altitude, radio communications between the crew and air traffic controllers showed no abnormality.

ATR is preparing to launch a new generation of its turboprop family equipped with hybrid gas turbines, new onboard systems and a new cabin interior. The European airframer, jointly owned by Airbus and Leonardo, says it is currently in talks with customers, suppliers and potential new industrial partners about the project, dubbed "Evo", and plans to formally launch development next year and bring the aircraft into service before 2030. ATR confirms that the updated aircraft is to be fitted with turboprop engines with integrated, battery-driven electric motors to provide supplemental power for flight phases with high-thrust requirement, such as take-off, climb and go-arounds. Pratt & Whitney Canada, ATR's engine supplier, previously launched a technology project to trial such an engine architecture on a De Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 flight demonstrator. Its aim was to study the possibility of fitting turboprops smaller gas turbines that would be more economical for cruise flight. Although ATR was not actively involved in that project, chief executive Stefano Bortoli said at the Dubai air show in November 2021 that the airframer was in contact with P&WC; about it. ATR says it has issued requests for information to "the main engine manufacturers" for the new turboprop generation, suggesting that the airframer is in contact with Rolls-Royce and GE Aviation in addition to Pratt & Whitney and its Canadian division specialised in smaller gas turbines. The airframer declined to disclose details, but tells Cirium that the engine makers invited to bid include companies in Europe and also beyond. P&WC; has been ATR's sole engine supplier since the early-'80s inception of the turboprop family. Embraer previously said it was in talks with GE Aviation, P&W and Rolls-Royce about its clean-sheet turboprop, which is to include two models similarly sized to the 50-seat ATR 42 and 78-seat ATR 72. The Brazilian airframer intends to make a launch decision regarding that programme later this year or in the first quarter of 2023. Beyond a new powerplant, ATR is evaluating the use of new propellers featuring eight instead of the current six blades (for better performance and lower noise) and efforts to clean up the existing airframe for improved aerodynamic efficiency. The aircraft's current mechanical anti-icing boots along the leading edges of the wings and horizontal stabilisers are to be replaced with an electric system, says senior vice-president engineering Stephane Viala in a video released by ATR. New avionics are to be installed for pilots while the cabin will be updated with "increased use of lighter bio-sourced materials" that can be recycled. "Eco design will be at the heart of all that we will do on this aircraft," says Viala. He adds that the new aircraft will have a better climb performance than the current generation. Overall, ATR targets 20% lower fuel burn and a 20% maintenance cost reduction versus the PW127-powered ATR -600 series. In 2021, ATR and P&WC; jointly unveiled the upgraded PW127XT version, which is to become standard for the turboprop family from this year. The XT engine will deliver 3% lower fuel consumption, 40% longer time on wing and a 20% reduction in maintenance costs, ATR said at the time. The proposed new hybrid-powered turboprop will be compatible with 100% sustainable aviation fuel, says ATR. The airframer has target of certificating its current aircraft generation for full-SAF use by 2025. When deployed with 100% SAF, the new hybrid-powered turboprop's emissions will be "close to zero", predicts Bortoli. With conventional fossil-based kerosene, he says, the new aircraft will have a fuel-burn and emissions benefit of more than 50% versus regional jets. "We in the aerospace industry face a colossal challenge of how to make aircraft more sustainable while meeting an increased demand across the globe," Bortoli notes in ATR's video. He argues that turboprops are "the aircraft technology of today and of the future", and describes the new hybrid-powered generation as "a step forward in responsible flying through further incremental innovation".