Ordering the Airbus A380 was the largest mistake in Qatar Airways' history, chief executive Akbar Al Baker has declared, citing the aircraft's high operating costs and poor environmental performance. "In my opinion, looking backward, it was the biggest mistake we did – to purchase A380s," Al Baker said during a webinar organised by Simple Flying on 26 May. He goes on to criticise the aircraft's high fuel burn and "the mistake in the design" for rendering the aircraft uneconomical. Although the A380 initially seemed to work for the carrier in the mid-2000s when oil prices were low, he recalls, once they began rising the economic case for the aircraft fell apart. "People who have large numbers of A380s in their fleets will suffer in operating costs and from people who are conscious of emissions," he adds. Of the 10 A380s that Qatar Airways ordered, all are currently grounded, and the Middle Eastern airline has taken impairments against five. Al Baker warns: "I don't think there is a market for that aircraft in the near term." Discussing his carrier's fleet strategy, he says Qatar Airways will "take all the Airbus A321LRs we have on order" as the aircraft provides the optimum volume for intercontinental routes in off-peak seasons. Data shows it has 50 A321LRs on order.

Garuda Indonesia has confirmed media reports that it is in the early stages of offering an "accelerated pension programme" for eligible staff. In a 24 May disclosure to the Indonesia Stock Exchange, the Indonesian flag carrier provided an explanation pertaining to two 21 May local media reports, from Tempo.co and DetikFinance, that detailed a plan to offer early retirement for employees. Garuda noted that it will need to "take steps to adjust the aspects of supply and demand amid a decline in operating performance and significant reduction in flight traffic". It stressed that the accelerated retirement plan is "voluntarily offered to existing employees who meet the criteria", without detailing those criteria. Also as part of the carrier's restructuring amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the airline intends to retain fewer than 70 aircraft from its current fleet, according to minutes of an internal company meeting cited in the Tempo.co report, although Garuda did not comment on this in its 24 May exchange filing. According to fleets data, Garuda Indonesia has a fleet of 142 aircraft, including 73 Boeing 737-800s, 24 Airbus A330s, three A330neos, 10 777s, 18 Bombardier CRJ1000s, 13 ATR72s and one 737 Max 8.The carrier also has an orderbook of 69 aircraft that comprises 49 737 Max 8s, 15 A330neos and five ATR72s. Garuda only manages 13 aircraft itself: six A330-300s, one 737-800 and six CRJ1000s. The remainder of its fleet is managed by 29 different lessors. Nordic Aviation Capital has the largest exposure by number of aircraft with 25 regional jets on lease to Garuda, Cirium fleets data show.

The number of passenger flights departing from European airports has hit the highest level in nearly seven months as vaccine rollouts begin to be felt across the continent. Data shows that a seven-day average of 8,573 departing flights took place in the continent on 24 May, the largest amount since 8,618 took place on 1 November 2020. The figure remains less than a third of the 25,719 flights that departed on 24 May 2019, however. By capacity, the data presents a similar story. On 24 May, 1.35 million seats were operated on departing flights across the continent, measured on a seven-day average, the highest since 31 October. On the same date in May 2019 an average of nearly 4.1 million departing flights took place in the continent. However, the data also highlights that the majority of these gains are taking place on domestic services, with passengers on such routes facing fewer travel restrictions. The number of departing seats on international European flights rose from a seven-day average of 587,142 on 10 May to 681,546 two weeks later, a rise of 16%. In the same period, the number of domestic departing seats rose from 560,561 to 670,026, an increase of nearly 20%. Nearly 207 million doses of Covid-19 vaccinations had been administered by EU states by 19 May, according to Our World In Data, or 46.1 per 100 EU citizens. The EU's green pass digital certificate was provisionally approved by EU member states and the European parliament on 20 May, with final approval expected in June for a full rollout by the start of July. It is hoped the project will enable those that have been vaccinated, tested negative for Covid-19 or who can show they have recovered from the virus to travel again, enabling a widescale reopening of Europe's aviation markets.