KLM is “in the midst” of discussing a possible narrowbody aircraft order with Airbus and Boeing. That is according to KLM chief executive Pieter Elbers, who says the airline is returning to a fleet replacement process that had been under way when the Covid-19 pandemic struck. “We’re now in the midst of the discussions with the two of them,” Elbers says when asked about narrowbodies offered by Airbus and Boeing. “We are speaking here with the suppliers.” He made his comments on 4 October in Boston during IATA’s World Air Transport Summit. Elbers notes that KLM already renewed its regional-aircraft fleet with Embraer E-Jets and its widebody fleet with 787's and 777's. Now, KLM’s focus returns to replacing 737's. KLM and affiliate Transavia operate nearly 100 737NG's, which have an average age of 12 years, according to fleets data. Some are more than 20 years old. “The focus today is first getting the replacement of the 737s,” Elbers says. “We haven’t made any decision yet.” He declines to discuss the relative merits of narrowbodies offered by Boeing and Airbus. “I’ll let the process run,” Elbers says.

American Airlines has invoked the US government's new Covid-19 vaccine requirements for federal contractors and subcontractors in its own recently disclosed requirement that all of its US-based employees and certain international crew members be vaccinated. The Fort Worth-based carrier's chief executive Doug Parker and president Robert Isom said in a memo sent to employees on 1 October that "due to several of our agreements, including the City Pair Program, the Civil Reserve Air Fleet program and our Department of Defense cargo contracts, American is classified as a government contractor." American is still working out the details of the federal government's and its own vaccine requirements. In the meantime, the carrier's stance toward its employees' vaccination status is definitive. "It is clear that team members who choose to remain unvaccinated will not be able to work at American Airlines," Parker and Isom say. US president Joe Biden on 9 September signed an executive order requiring Covid-19 vaccination for employees at all federal contractors. The White House on 24 September disclosed that federal contractor employees must be fully vaccinated no later than 8 December. Additionally, Biden disclosed on 9 September that the Department of Labor is developing an emergency rule requiring all companies and organisations with 100 or more employees ensure their workforces are fully vaccinated or show a negative test at least once a week. American previously had used various enticements to increase the vaccinated portion of its workforce. Parker and Isom say: "We have consistently advocated that all American Airlines team members… should get vaccinated, and we appreciate the tens of thousands of team members who did so during our incentive program. For those colleagues who did not, we realize this federal mandate may be difficult, but it is what is required of our company, and we will comply." United Airlines was the first US carrier to have used the threat of termination as an incentive for employees to get vaccinated. The Chicago-based carrier had disclosed to its US employees on 6 August that they would be required to receive a Covid-19 vaccine and upload their vaccination records to a company site. Separately, US senator Dianne Feinstein on 29 September introduced to the Senate a bill that would require all passengers on domestic airline flights to either be fully vaccinated, have recently tested negative for Covid-19 or have fully recovered from Covid-19. JetBlue Airways' chief executive Robin Hayes said during a 4 October media briefing at the IATA Annual General Meeting in Boston that he and others in the US aviation industry are "concerned" about the operational complexity that would be involved in the establishment of vaccination and testing requirements for domestic travellers should Feinstein's bill be signed into law. "If the [US Transportation Security Administration] were to perform this function, do they have the regulatory approval and authority to do that?" Hayes says. "There's just a lot that has to be worked through, such as managing religious and medical exemptions. The complexities that come with that type of effort in terms of the domestic landscape make it extremely challenging. It would mean people having to come to the airports earlier, it would mean longer lines, it would mean more people would be required to perform these functions. We're not sure at the moment whether the system is ready for that."

Global airline trade group IATA has revised its carbon emissions target, approving on 4 October at its annual general meeting in Boston a resolution for the air transport industry to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. IATA had previously adopted the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), which aimed to reduce by 2050 global aviation's net carbon emissions by 50% from 2005 levels. ICAO's carbon offset concept remains central to IATA's net-zero emissions "pathway", although it is offered as just one tactic among several that member airlines can use to reach the 2050 net-zero carbon emissions deadline. IATA expects developing technologies – including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), new aircraft programes, operations and infrastructure software, electric and hydrogen power and carbon capture ­– will advance sufficiently in the coming years to enable carriers that might be presently struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic to affordably meet the 2050 deadline. All member airlines must find a way to meet the net-zero emissions deadline, even though the internal vote was apparently not unanimous. Chinese carriers, in particular, had pushed for a 2060 deadline. "We're a democratic organisation," IATA's director general Willie Walsh said during a media briefing on 4 October. "It's always nice when everybody agrees. But we're very clear that the resolution has been passed by the majority of carriers represented by IATA. And that becomes the position of IATA." Member airlines had debated the timeline "at significant length", Walsh adds. "There was a good discussion within the board of governors as to whether we could facilitate the timeline proposed by the Chinese carriers of 2060. But the general view, particularly from those carriers in Europe, was that already we're seeing pressure to accelerate the achievement of net zero before 2050. And that moving it to 2060 would not be position that they could accept." Walsh expects pressure from consumers on global commercial aviation to decarbonise will only intensify with each passing year. "Consumers recognise our commitment, but what they don't understand necessarily is how we're going to get to decarbonisation. But given the general consumer attitude towards the critical issue of climate change, airlines that don't engage to reduce their carbon footprint I think will be measured by consumers." Walsh notes that some airlines have already disclosed shorter timeframes for achieving net-zero emissions, along with a variety of technology investment schemes. "On our boards we have both United Airlines and FedEx, who are investing heavily in carbon capture and sequestration. We have other airlines who are investing significantly in sustainable aviation fuels." IATA members are impatient for aircraft manufacturers to recognise and react appropriately to evolving consumer perceptions and expectations, which have been reshaped by the pandemic and by recent climate-related disasters. "I've listened very carefully to what Airbus has said about hydrogen-powered aircraft," Walsh says. "They seem ever more confident that they will have a hydrogen-powered aircraft in 2035. Boeing takes a different view… they see that as being more complex and more difficult. We're not going to argue with the manufacturers. What we are saying, though, is that what they're doing today isn't enough. It's not good enough that we get incremental change in efficiency with the aircraft. To get to net zero we're going to need a fundamental change."