IATA will be forced to revisit its target of achieving net zero by 2050 because of the insufficient progress in developing key technologies to reach that goal, the airline association's director general Willie Walsh has warned. Speaking onstage at the ISTAT Americas conference in Phoenix on 3 March, Walsh said: "I think we're going to have to revisit it [the 2050 target] because we're not making as strong and fast progress on things like sustainable aviation fuel [SAF} as we had hoped." He adds: "When you look at the journey to net zero 2050, the most significant contribution to that will be through sustainable aviation fuel, because we're not going to see a major technological change between now and 2050 that will address the challenge." Walsh has previously defended the sector's 2050 target, emphasising SAF as a key driver for airlines to reach it, but he now foresees that there will be a "re-evaluation, certainly". There will, he suspects, be airlines who say "We don't think we do this", which could lead the sector to becoming "a bit more fragmented". Airlines that committed to getting to 10% SAF usage by 2030 "probably regret making that commitment", he posits. He says he was "pleased" to hear that Airbus was postponing the service entry of its proposed hydrogen-powered zero-emissions aircraft beyond a 2035 target, because keeping to that timeframe was "never going to happen", in his view. The sector will "probably have to acknowledge" that having a hydrogen-powered commercial narrowbody in service by 2035 is "not going to happen" either, he adds. The change of administration in the USA will likely "slow down" the drive for sustainability, Walsh observes, adding that the country had been leading the way in terms of investment in biofuels and SAF. Walsh also highlights concerns over the transition cost to net zero, and suggests that European politicians have portrayed the transition as coming at "no cost to the consumer". "Which is a lie," he adds. "It's a massive cost to the consumer... The consumer is going to have to pay. Now, the question is how much of the bill gets paid by the consumer and how much is going to be borne by the government."

AELF has acquired an Airbus A330-300 on lease from South African Airways (SAA). In a LinkedIn post, the lessor announced the deal to buy the widebody (MSN 1754) at the ISTAT Americas conference and says it was arranged by Arena Aviation Capital. Fleets data shows that the jet, which is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 772 engines, was previously managed by Aergo Capital. The 2016-build aircraft was originally operated by SAA, but was returned in 2020 and briefly operated between February 2022 and August 2023 with Airhub Airlines before returning to operations with the South African carrier in February 2024.

IAG is waiting for the Portuguese government to unveil its privatisation conditions for state-owned TAP Air Portugal before deciding whether to press ahead with an acquisition. During an annual-results webcast, IAG chief executive Luis Gallego said the group was "following the process" with the Portuguese authorities and observed that it "looks like" further conditions would be revealed in March. "When we have that, we will take a decision." With acquisitions, he adds, the aim is to find targets that can "help the group" access markets where it lacks a strong presence, such as Brazil, a TAP stronghold. IAG has long coveted TAP's South Atlantic routes, which, it believes, could slot in with its established connections to Europe with Iberia, centred on Madrid. "We need to see the conditions, the freedom we can have to manage the company," Gallego stresses, stating his intention to bring the margins of any acquisition into line with the 12-16% that IAG has achieved with its current set of companies. "I think in maybe six weeks we will have a more clear idea," he says. Air France-KLM and Lufthansa have also signalled interest in acquiring TAP, although it is uncertain what conditions the Portuguese government will impose on a transaction, or what size of stake it is willing to offload.