Boeing during August logged 53 new aircraft orders and delivered 22 jets to customers as the tenuous recovery of air travel spurs demand for 737 Max jets and even 787s while shipments of the widebody are paused. The US airframer reported orders for 35 Max jets, eleven 777 freighters and seven 787-9s during August. Orders totalled 31 in July. This brought total new orders for 2021 to 683 aircraft. The final tally stands at 280 orders after factoring in commitments that were cancelled or converted to a different model. Boeing deliveries in August included 14 Max jets, a 777F for DHL Express, a 777F for FedEx, a 767F and five aircraft for military customers. Deliveries dipped slightly compared with 28 shipments in July. During 2021, Boeing has delivered 206 aircraft while Airbus delivered 40 jets during August for a total of 384 shipments so far this year. Airbus remains behind Boeing in aircraft sales during 2021, tallying 269 gross orders and 132 after cancellations. Boeing has shipped no 787's since May. The US Federal Aviation Administration is still reviewing a method proposed by Boeing to inspect 787's that would enable the airframer to resume deliveries of the widebody type.

British Airways responded to the pandemic by using technology to deliver new products and services to the customer, in a bid to improve its offering, cut costs, and minimise the risk of infection. During the AIX online event on 13 September, the IAG-owned airline's director of brand and customer experience Tom Stevens said the mission was to "bolt new technology onto our existing infrastructure" in a bid to innovate. He cites a new initiative allowing travellers in the London area to check in their luggage the day before their journey and have it collected ahead of time. This allows them to head straight through security, reducing queues. Similarly, the airline is now offering passengers who travel on the Heathrow Express rail service from Paddington the opportunity to deposit their bags at the station platform, saving them time in the terminal. On board, passengers can now use the in-flight wi-fi to order food and refreshments to their seat, something that is helping the carrier to move away from its traditional trolley service. Likewise, allowing passengers to pre-order their purchases before the flight enables greater choice and the opportunity to reduce food waste. Stevens explains that such moves are about "customer choice, being flexible and constantly trying to adapt". The reaction, he continues, is "record customer satisfaction scores". BA, he adds, has worked hard to give customers the confidence to make bookings, and is also taking steps to maintain its premium brand position, such as by offering complimentary snacks and refreshments with its "Euro traveller" economy cabin. Stevens highlight that the carrier is seeing "huge pent-up demand to go flying again", especially for leisure and visiting friends and relatives, including in premium cabins. "What we are seeing is once customers have done it once and have got used to additional steps, actually they realise it's not that complicated and are prepared to go flying again and again", he suggests.

The US bankruptcy court for the Southern District of New York has approved Colombia flag carrier Avianca's disclosure statement describing the terms of its reorganisation plan. Avianca may now submit the plan to creditors for their approval. The court's approval is "a significant step for the company towards emergence from Chapter 11", Avianca states on 14 September in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Avianca, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the USA in May 2020, on 10 August disclosed that its board had approved the filing of its reorganisation plan with the US bankruptcy court. The airline has also recently secured $1.6 billion in commitments to finance its exit from Chapter 11. On 1 September, Avianca disclosed that it had reached an equity conversion and commitment agreement with "a majority" of its Tranche B lenders, for which it was seeking bankruptcy court approval. Avianca's next step on the road to emergence from Chapter 11 is to solicit votes on the reorganisation plan "from certain classes of creditors". Creditors' votes in support of the plan must be submitted to Avianca by 14 October. The US bankruptcy court will consider approval of the plan on 26 October.