Lufthansa Group has announced network expansions for summer 2025, adding four new routes across its airlines. From Frankfurt, Lufthansa will operate twice-weekly flights to Lamezia Terme, Italy from 6 April 2025 and weekly Saturday service to Figari in Corsica starting 17 May, the airline says. SWISS International Air Lines will connect Zurich with Dubrovnik in Croatia, operating up to five weekly frequencies from 17 April. Brussels Airlines will introduce weekly flights between Brussels and Funchal in Madeira, beginning 5 April. These additions complement the group's existing network of over 300 destinations across more than 100 countries, served through its hubs in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Belgium with 12,000 weekly connections.

Emirates plans to deploy its retrofitted Boeing 777s on Dubai-Vienna from 3 January. The Austrian capital will become the fourth European destination to feature the upgraded aircraft, following Geneva, Zurich and Brussels, the UAE-based carrier says. The four-class 777 features eight first-class suites, 40 business-class seats in a 1-2-1 layout, 24 premium-economy seats in a 2-4-2 arrangement and 256 economy seats. The aircraft upgrade is part of Emirates' ongoing retrofit programme, with 10 retrofitted 777s already in service across various routes.

South African Airways has warned it does not have the financial firepower to meet its pilots' demand for a 15.7% pay increase. Unions have threatened to launch strike action from 5 December if an agreement on pay is not reached. They initially asked for a 30% increase, citing the carrier's return to profitability this year. SAA has offered 8.46%. Interim chief executive John Lamola argues that the carrier "may not by any means" claim to be financially robust, and can no longer expect its shareholders to provide additional funding to prop it up. "SAA cannot return to the lucrative benefits that SAA pilots have historically enjoyed," he states. "Acceding to [unions'] demand for a 15.7% wage increase will trigger SAA's decline into bankruptcy." The airline, he adds, "has only recently regained its operational viability after emerging from business rescue in 2021". Strike action, he asserts, would "disrupt this momentum". SAA made a net profit of R252 million ($13.9 million) in the year to March 2023, as revenue rose R5.7 billion from R2 billion. During the period, it operated six to eight aircraft, serving only nine destinations. Talks on privatising the airline collapsed earlier this year amid disagreement over its valuation. As a result, it has remained fully in government hands.