Flag carrier South African Airways (SAA) has inched a step closer to resuming operations after receiving its renewed operating license from the South African Civil Aviation Authority. The airline’s interim chief executive Thomas Kgokolo says the carrier plans "to take to the skies again in just a few weeks". "At our Airways Park headquarters, in hangars and at terminals around the country our staff are hard at work in finishing the final preparatory phases before we make an official announcement about the exact take-off date,” Kgokolo states. The carrier cleared a major roadblock towards resuming operations after it reached an agreement with the SAA Pilots Association in July. The deal followed the in-principle agreement reached on 6 July, with member pilots voting with a significant 95% majority, in favour of the agreement during a ballot process which closed on 11 July. Under the agreement, SAA says it will retain 88 pilots from the total of 268 remaining pilots. Kgokolo says that the pilots who will form the nucleus of the fleet’s cockpit have been identified and the processes to bring them on board will conclude in the next two weeks.

Brazilian carrier Gol has signed agreements to acquire another 28 Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft. 15 of the aircraft will be financed via direct operating leases, nine by leasebacks and four by finance leases, the airline says in a 3 August statement. Across its entire fleet, Gol targets for half the aircraft to be on finance leases and the rest on operating leases, for the flexibility to respond to demand. “We are accelerating our fleet transformation plan in anticipation of the strong recovery of air travel in the post-pandemic scenario,” chief executive Paulo Kakinoff states. “The 737 Max positions Gol to grow even more competitively with the expansion of routes to destinations, at the same time which provides efficiency gains, thus generating more value for all stakeholders of the company." The latest order will replace 23 737-800s in the airline's fleet by the end of 2022, and Gol expects the move to reduce that year's unit costs by 8%. The arrival of the new 737 Max jets allows Gol to accelerate the return of 737-700 and -800 aircraft on short-term leases, while retaining substantial flexibility to manage its fleet in close alignment with fluctuations in demand for air travel during the pandemic and eventually, post-pandemic. Besides the CASK reduction, the 28 aircraft are expected to generate approximately $200 million in capital and cash gains, the airline says. Gol currently operates 12 737 Max aircraft and returned 18 737NGs in the last 18 months.

CDB Aviation has delivered the first of 13 Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft to United Airlines. The aircraft has been delivered under the purchase-and-leaseback transactions announced earlier in the year and in 2020, the Dublin-based lessor says. “We enthusiastically welcomed United to our increasing base of customers within the Americas and look forward to building a key strategic relationship," CDB Aviation chief commercial officer Peter Goodman says.