Air France on 6 July took delivery of its 11th Airbus A350-900 aircraft at the Airbus delivery centre in Toulouse. The SkyTeam carrier says the aircraft, registered F-HTYJ and names Cannes, will be based at Paris Charles de Gaulle and deployed on long-haul routes. The airline notes that the aircraft consumes 25% less fuel than previous-generation aircraft as it uses 67% lighter materials – 53% composites and 14% titanium. Additionally, its noise footprint is reduced by 40%. The airline plans to acquire a total of 38 A350s by 2025 as part of its efforts to modernise its long-haul fleet. Air France says it will begin the renewal of its short- and medium-haul fleet in September, with the delivery of the first of the 60 Airbus A220s expected by the carrier.

Global demand for air freight increased 9.4% in May compared to pre-pandemic levels, IATA data shows. The increase marks a slight slowdown in the pace of growth compared with April, when demand rose 12% from the same month in 2019, IATA says. North American carriers contributed 4.6 percentage points to the demand increase, and airlines in all other regions apart from Latin America saw growth. Capacity remains 9.7% below that of May 2019, amid the ongoing grounding of passenger aircraft. The global load factor stood at 57.2% in May, with Asia-Pacific and Europe registering 64.6% and 65.6%, respectively. IATA also notes that the competitiveness of air freight compared to sea freight has improved, stating that it is now only six times more expensive than sea shipping, compared with 12 times more expensive before the Covid-19 crisis. Willie Walsh, IATA's director general, expects a shift in consumption from goods to services as economies unlock. "This could slow growth for cargo in general, but improved competitiveness compared to sea shipping should continue to make air cargo a bright spot for airlines while passenger demand struggles with continued border closures and travel restrictions," he states.

Porter Airlines intends to resume operations on 8 September, following months of delays as the regional carrier watched for signs that Canada would loosen travel restrictions and that demand for flights would return. The Toronto-based carrier had previously aimed to restart operations in July, but now says its flight schedule "is returning in phases".
"Approximately 500 team members will be recalled to active status as the first phase of flights are introduced," says the airline. "More staff will be added in subsequent months as flights and destinations return to the schedule." Porter will on 8 September restart domestic operations, beginning with routes within a network spanning Halifax, Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, St John's, Thunder Bay and Toronto. Flights to the USA will resume on 17 September, starting with routes to Boston, Chicago, New York, and Washington DC. Porter shuttered its operations in March 2020. Canada's government provided no direct funding for that nation's airlines that year, but has since made loans available to airlines through its Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF). Porter chief executive Michael Deluce on 30 June announced a federal loan for C$270 million ($219 million), including C$20 million set aside for passenger refunds. "We intend to draw on these funds as required in support of re-establishing operations through an uncertain period of travel demand," Deluce states. "Our immediate focus is on being ready to fly again as soon as public health conditions allow and governments modify travel restrictions.” Canada's two largest airlines WestJet and Air Canada are set to increase capacity on their networks from July through September as the national government re-evaluates travel restrictions in light of vaccinations against Covid-19. Leisure carrier Air Transat plans to resume operations on 30 July.