Wizz Air is ramping up pilot recruitment across its network, with plans to hire 4,600 new pilots by 2030. The Central European budget carrier says it has already trained over 150 additional pilots in order to fly over 100% of pre-Covid capacity this summer and aims to recruit over 300 more by the end of this year as it looks to meet its ambitious growth plans following the pandemic. Pilots will have the opportunity to operate the airline’s "constantly growing" fleet of young, modern and sustainable Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft on over 800 routes, to 191 destinations in 49 countries, it says. The carrier adds it is committed to more than tripling the size of its fleet, with 500 Airbus aircraft expected in the next 10 years. Wizz Air says it welcomes applications from experienced captains and first officers as well as those with no flying experience at all. The company operates the Wizz Air Pilot Academy Programme. Wizz Air also continues to recruit cabin crew members across its 43 bases to meet its growth plans.

Qatar Airways has cited an issue with degradation of the fuselage surface after being instructed by its regulator to ground 13 Airbus A350's. The Middle Eastern carrier says it is "working with its regulator to ensure the continued safety of all passengers and, on this basis, and following the explicit written instruction of its regulator, 13 aircraft have now been grounded, effectively removing them from service until such time as the root cause can be established and a satisfactory solution made available to permanently correct the underlying condition". It adds that it will continue to "closely monitor the significant condition across its Airbus A350 fleet in which the fuselage surface below the paint is degrading at an accelerated rate". Airbus states: "As a leading aircraft manufacturer, we are always in talks/working with our customers. Those talks we keep confidential. We have no further comment on our customer's operations." Data shows Qatar Airways has a total of 53 A350's – 34 A350-900's and 19 A350-1000's – having been the launch customer for both variants. It has 23 A350-1000s on order. During a FlightPlan webinar in June, Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker accused Airbus of "bullying" tactics amid a technical dispute regarding the A350, although he declined to comment on the details. "We will not take any planes from Airbus until such time that the concerns we have are addressed by them, and they are contractually obliged by that," he said. When asked to clarify whether he believed Airbus was trying to bully the carrier, he responded: "Yes, because they are ignoring the issue with the planes that we have, and they are trying to dilly-dally and drag their fleet instead of solving the problems that they have." He added that the dispute would complicate a potential order for a next-generation freighter from the manufacturer.

Canada's Porter Airlines has tapped Embraer for aftermarket support. The Brazilian airframer says the total support programme covers airframe heavy maintenance checks, technical solutions and access to Embraer's pool programme for up to 20 years. Embraer Services & Support's chief executive Johann Bordais states: "Embraer will provide all necessary support, long before the airline starts operations with the most efficient single-aisle aircraft in the world, the E195-E2." The manufacturer's Aircraft Customer Services unit will deliver the pool programme services in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The programme includes component exchanges and repair services for hundreds of reparable items in Porter's E2 fleet.
Embraer Aircraft Maintenance Services will perform the heavy checks elsewhere in the USA, at Nashville, Tennessee. Embraer and Porter will collaborate to offer services related to the aircraft entry into service in the coming months. These include provisioning services, spare-parts recommendations and technical training. Toronto-based Porter will be the North American launch customer for Embraer's E2 family of E-Jets. The airline plans to deploy the E195-E2s to business and leisure destinations across Canada, the USA, Mexico and the Caribbean, from Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax and Toronto airports. Delivery and entry into service of Porter's E195-E2s is scheduled to start in the second half of 2022.