Australian carrier Qantas has taken delivery of the first of 40 Airbus A321XLR jets it will use to replace Boeing 737-800s in its fleet. On 30 June, the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-powered aircraft (VH-OGA) departed Airbus's facility in Hamburg, Germany. It is scheduled to arrive in Sydney on 2 July, after a stopover in Bangkok, says Qantas. The Oneworld airline notes that the 5,180nm leg to the Thai capital will be the longest A321XLR flight operated by a commercial airline to date. Qantas completed an acceptance flight of the aircraft in Hamburg on 24 June, it says. Airbus notes that 28 of the airline group's 40 A321XLRs have been allocated to Qantas and 12 to budget subsidiary Jetstar. Qantas opted for the PW1100G to power its A321XLRs, while Jetstar's will be fitted with CFM International Leap-1A engines. Data from Airbus shows that Qantas Group's single-aisle order backlog with the airframer totaled 128 aircraft on 31 May: 63 A321neos, 43 A320neos and 22 A220-300s. Qantas has confirmed that its A321XLRs will replace 737-800s. It has configured the new single aisles with 20 business and 177 economy seats, both supplied by Recaro. Fleet data shows that Qantas has 75 737-800s which were built in the 2002-14 period and have an average age of 17 years. Each of the 737s is equipped with 12 business and 162 economy seats. Qantas highlights that the A321XLR has around 1,600nm more range than the 737NG and will "open up a wider range of direct domestic and short-haul international routes". The airline cites destinations in Southeast Asia and Pacific islands as examples. The A321XLR has up to 4,700nm range in typical airline service, notes Airbus. "We are proud to be the first A321XLR operator in Asia Pacific and its arrival will mark the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Qantas and a significant step forward in enhancing the experience we offer our customers," states the carrier's domestic chief Markus Svensson. Qantas is the second operator of the GTF-powered A321XLR variant – after central European budget carrier Wizz Air received the first aircraft last month – and the fourth overall. Launch operator Iberia began scheduled passenger flights with the A321XLR in November 2024 and was followed in December by IAG sibling Aer Lingus. Fleet data lists seven A321XLRs in service with airlines – three each at Iberia and Aer Lingus plus one at Wizz Air – and 473 on order.

Fitch Ratings has revised its rating outlook on Boeing's long-term issuer default rating (IDR) to "stable" from "negative" and has affirmed the IDR at 'BBB-'. Fitch has also affirmed Boeing's short-term IDR and commercial paper (CP) rating at 'F3' and its senior unsecured notes and revolvers at 'BBB-'. "The outlook revision to stable reflects Fitch's view that the post-strike production ramp and enhanced financial flexibility, including the announced Jeppesen sale, have reduced downgrade risks and support the 'BBB-' rating," Fitch says. "The stable outlook also incorporates Fitch's expectation of gross debt reduction, including repayment of all 2026 notes at maturity ($7.95 billion)." The rating agency goes on to say that sustained operational improvement, particularly continued 737 Max production progress, should drive free cash flow generation and EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) leverage metrics consistent with 'BBB-' thresholds. "Fitch will monitor Boeing's ability to maintain operational momentum and provide greater clarity on long-term capital allocation, which could support further rating improvement within 6 -12 months," it says.

Air Baltic expects to see some improvements in the second quarter, compared with the same period in 2024, and forward bookings for 2025 are ahead of last year's levels, the airline has said in a trading update. The Latvia-based carrier estimates that its passenger numbers in the second quarter will be 6-7.5% higher year-on-year, with capacity expected to grow 1.5-2.5%. Ticket yields are "stabilising" and Air Baltic expects its revenue per available seat-kilometre (RASK) to increase by 2.5-4%. Load factor is anticipated to grow by between two and three percentage points, compared with the second quarter of 2024. Forward bookings for the third quarter are about 3% ahead of the third quarter in 2024, and the airline has maintained its guidance for full-year passenger numbers of 5.2-5.4 million and a 20% increase in ACMI capacity. "In the second quarter of 2025, our operations across the Baltics remained stable, with consistent performance across our network connecting Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius and the wider region," states interim chief executive Pauls Calitis. "Operating indicators, including engine availability, continued to meet our expectations. With promising summer demand, we are in a good position to further strengthen Air Baltic's role in our core markets," he adds. Finance chief Vitolds Jakovlevs acknowledges that the carrier had "a challenging start to the year" but offers a more positive outlook for the rest of 2025. The airline narrowed its losses in the first quarter but there was little change in revenue year-on-year as it faced strong competition in its key markets. "Based on preliminary data, we expect to see improvement in Q2, compared to the same period last year, in several metrics such as RASK and load factor," says Jakovlevs. "Current projections for Q3 also indicate a positive trend, particularly in yield performance." While forward bookings are ahead of last year, Jakovlevs cautions that "we continue to monitor geopolitical risks, especially in the Middle East, which may affect fuel prices and demand on certain routes". Earlier in June, Latvian auditors questioned the viability of Air Baltic's business plan and called for increased scrutiny of the government's shares in the carrier. Air Baltic will announce its preliminary first-half results on 13 August.