LATAM Airlines has been given more time to file its Chapter 11 restructuring plan by a US bankruptcy court. The Chilean carrier now has up to and including 15 September to file its Chapter 11 plan and up to and including 8 November to seek acceptances of its plan. The group filed for bankruptcy protection in May of 2020 and has been aiming to exit the process by the end of 2021. The carrier has also received approval to enter amended lease agreements with Merlin Aviation and JSA International, according to court documents. The lease with Merlin, a vehicle of Aviation Capital Group, relates to one Airbus A320-232 aircraft (MSN 2734), while the lease with Jackson Square Aviation is for one Airbus A320-271neo aircraft, MSN 7126. LATAM has operated MSN 2734 since delivery in 2006 and MSN 7126 since delivery in 2016, according to data.

Low-cost carrier Mango has suspended flying until further notice over outstanding payments to South African air traffic services provider ATNS. "Senior management and our shareholder are locked-in in emergency discussions to find an amicable solution to this impasse," states the airline's acting chief executive William Ndlovu. Mango's parent company South African Airways on 26 July announced that it was placing the low-cost unit into business rescue and was in discussions with stakeholders over the process. SAA's acting chief executive Thomas Kgokolo also confirmed the board's awareness that Mango was behind on salary payments. Ndlovu says in Mango's 27 July statement that the carrier hopes to resume normal operations as soon as possible. Mango's fleet comprises 12 Boeing 737NGs. Four are in service and eight in storage.

European authorities have formally approved a hike in the Airbus A220-300’s maximum seating to 149 passengers, contingent on an overwing exit slide modification. The aircraft had previously been limited to 145 seats. Air France is planning to introduce its first A220-300 with a layout of 148 seats, due to be delivered to the carrier in September. Introduction of an over-performing Type III exit, with a dual-lane overwing slide replacing the single-lane slide, enables the carriage of additional passengers, says the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. EASA also points out that separate airworthiness approval is needed for the installation of the individual customised cabin layout as well as the necessary cabin adaptations up to 149 seats. Similar exit slide modifications have enabled Airbus to add a few extra seats to the A320neo family. Air Baltic and Swiss are the only other European operators of the A220, both of them fitting their -300 variants with 145 seats. Air Baltic had originally stated that it would take the -300s with a 148-seat configuration. Czech Airlines had intended to operate its A220s with a 149-seat layout but the future of its order is uncertain following the carrier’s filing for insolvency earlier this year. Bombardier had previously unveiled a high-density 160-seat option for its CS300 – the aircraft which became the A220-300 following Airbus’s acquisition of the programme – but this involved the addition of another pair of overwing exits.