The Latvian government has approved an additional investment of €90 million ($105 million) into Air Baltic’s equity to compensate for the economic damage it sustained due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The flag carrier says the investment was approved by the government, the majority shareholder of the airline, on 17 August. It is now subject to the approval of the European Commission. The investment will be returned to the government in form of proceeds from selling shares during a planned initial public offering of the airline in the future, Air Baltic chief executive officer Martin Gauss states. The carrier used the equity received in 2020 to maintain its operations and cover expenses amid the pandemic. Air Baltic is a strategic facilitator of the Latvian economy and is responsible for more than 2.5% of the country’s GDP.

Qantas Group requires all employees to be fully vaccinated, frontliners by 15 November and all others by 31 March. "Having a fully vaccinated workforce will safeguard our people against the virus but also protect our customers and the communities we fly to," chief executive Alan Joyce said in a statement today. He adds: "We provide an essential service, so this will help guard against the disruptions that can be caused by just one positive Covid-case shutting down a freight facility or airport terminal." Qantas says there will be exemptions for employees who are unable to be vaccinated for documented medical reasons to be vaccinated. Further discussions will take place with employees, their health and safety representatives and unions over the coming weeks on the detail of the policy, including how medical exemptions will be applied. The policy is part of the group's commitment to safety and follows consultation with Qantas and Jetstar employees, it says. This includes a survey on vaccination that had 12,000 responses, representing 60% of Australia-based Qantas Group employees. In the employee survey, around three-quarters think it should be a requirement for all employees to be vaccinated and would be concerned if co-workers were not vaccinated. Furthermore, 89% had already been vaccinated or are planning to be, with 4% unwilling or unable to do so. In a separate survey of more than 1,000 Qantas customers, 92% said they expect Qantas crew to be fully vaccinated, according to the group. Joyce says the employee survey saw one of the largest responses, "even with thousands of our people stood down". He states: "It’s clear that vaccinations are the only way to end the cycle of lockdowns and border closures and for a lot of Qantas and Jetstar employees that means getting back to work again."

Alaska Airlines on 16 August announced it will exercise its options with Boeing to add 12, 737 Max 9 aircraft to its existing order for a total of 93 jets scheduled for delivery by the end of 2024. The Seattle-based airline restructured its agreement with Boeing in December 2020 to acquire 68 Max aircraft by 2024, with options for another 52 deliveries by 2026. Alaska in May exercised its options to add 13 Max jets to its order. The airline as part of its deal with Boeing will add 25 options to its contract to backfill the options that have been exercised for the Max jets that seat 178 passengers. With the addition of these new jets to the backlog, Boeing is expected to deliver to Alaska 12 Max 9's during 2021; 31 during 2022; 31 during 2023; and 18 jets during 2024. Alaska said it has already entered into service five of those Max jets from the total order. Alaska plans to eventually transition its operation back to an all-Boeing fleet, as it was prior to inheriting an Airbus A320-family fleet through its acquisition of Virgin America in 2018. The airline aims to reduce its Airbus fleet to 10, A321neos by mid-2023. In addition to the 10, A321's in service, Alaska has 20 A320-200 jets in service, with 21 in storage, along with 10, A319's in storage.