British Airways is offering travellers the opportunity to buy sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for their flights as part of its new environmental programme, in addition to the offsetting of their carbon emissions. Under the initiative, launched at Heathrow and named BA Better World, the IAG-owned carrier will use SAF for all of its flights between London, Glasgow and Edinburgh for the duration of the COP26 climate conference taking place over the first 12 days of November. BA says the programme will place sustainability "at the heart of its business", and redouble its efforts to reduce emissions and eliminate waste. “With BA Better World we're on our most important journey yet - to a better, more sustainable future and one which will ensure the long-term success of our business," states BA chief executive Sean Doyle. "We're clear that we have a responsibility to reduce our impact on the planet and have a detailed plan to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, including investing in more fuel-efficient aircraft, improving our operational efficiency and investing in the development of sustainable aviation fuel and zero-emissions aircraft." To publicise the launch BA has repainted one of its A320neos in a new colour scheme, as part of a collaboration with manufacturer Airbus.The plan to enable customers to purchase SAF will come into force immediately, it adds, via its not-for-profit organisation Pure Leapfrog. BA will work with energy firm BP to source SAF for the COP26 summit being held in Scotland. This will provide a lifecycle carbon reduction of up to 80% compared with traditional jet fuel. The initiative forms part of BA's long-term commitment to the development and use of SAF. Parent company IAG is investing $400 million over the next 20 years in development of SAF. Meanwhile, BA is forming partnerships with a number of technology and fuel companies to develop SAF plants and purchase the fuel, including with Velocys in the UK and LanzaJet in the USA. IAG has pledged to power 10% of its fuel requirements with SAF by 2030.

Lufthansa has become the first European Airbus A320-family operator to deploy a single-aisle with the airframer's Airspace cabin interior. Airbus says that after the German airline group, in 2018, opted to configure more than 80 new A320-family jets with the updated interior, the first A321neo has now entered service. The Airspace cabin includes slimmer sidewall panels for more shoulder space, better window views through redesigned bezels and integrated window shades, larger overhead bins, full LED lighting and lavatories with touchless controls and antimicrobial surfaces. Lufthansa Group’s head of customer experience Heike Birlenbach states: “With the new Airspace cabin, we are significantly improving the travel experience on short-haul routes and setting a new industry benchmark." In 2016, Lufthansa became launch operator of the A320neo and has since received 30 A320neos and 11 A321neos, data shows. On order are another 51 A320neos and 29 A321neos, spanning both Pratt & Whitney PW1100G- and CFM International Leap-1A-powered aircraft. Lufthansa subsidiary Swiss has received three A320neos and two A321neos, with another 14 and six aircraft on order, respectively. Brussels Airlines, another group subsidiary, has three A320neos on order. Following an initial launch of the Airspace cabin on the A350 and A330neo, Airbus disclosed in 2017 that it would roll out the concept to its single-aisle family from 2020. US carrier JetBlue Airways became the first A320-family operator to introduce the cabin on a A321LR earlier this year.

Singapore has lifted restrictions on Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 aircraft operations into and out of the country, effective today.
"The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS)] made the decision to lift the restrictions after completing its technical assessment, which included an evaluation of the design changes to the aircraft made by Boeing and approved by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other validating authorities," the regulator says in a statement today. "CAAS also reviewed the operational data of flights of the aircraft that had resumed service over the past nine months and observed that there have been no notable safety issues." Besides requirements and flight crew training stipulated by the FAA, CAAS will impose additional standards on operators. For local operators, this includes establishing a flight crew training programme approved by CAAS that comprises ground and flight training elements specified in the FAA's requirements, with additional simulator training to ensure that pilots are adequately trained on workload management when handling aircraft emergencies. Foreign airlines must comply with CAAS and the FAA's requirements, as well as other requirements of their respective civil aviation authorities. Data shows that Singapore Airlines is the only local carrier that operates the aircraft type and has six 737 Max 8's in its existing fleet. The mainline carrier has orders for another 69, comprising 57 737 Max 8's, eight Max 10's and four of unannounced variant. Eight of the 737 Max 8's on order have been assigned MSN's. Within Asia-Pacific, India and Malaysia have lifted the operational ban on the aircraft type in recent weeks, on 26 August and 2 September, respectively. In February, Australia became the first Asia-Pacific nation to allow 737 Max flights to and from the country. New Zealand followed shortly with a similar course of action but stopped short of issuing a blanket approval. In April, Fiji Airways received approval from local regulators to return the aircraft type to service. In June, the flag carrier obtained approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand to resume flights to New Zealand, following a comprehensive safety review.