Iberia is set to operate on 14 November the first commercial transatlantic Airbus A321XLR flight, between Madrid and Boston. The service is scheduled to depart the Spanish capital at 12:35pm local time and have a flight time of 8.45h, the airline says. Iberia completed a number of European flights to Paris and Stockholm since it took delivery of the first A321XLR on 30 October, it notes. Parent IAG opted for CFM International Leap-1A engines on incoming A321XLRs. Iberia has another seven A321XLRs on order and its sibling Aer Lingus five. Airbus in June said that the alternative Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-powered variant would be certificated during the fourth quarter of 2024. Iberia has configured its A321XLR cabin with 14 Thompson Aero Seating Vantage Solo business and 168 Recaro CL3810 economy seats. As additional galley equipment for the single aisle, the airline lists food heaters and "an espresso machine capable of preparing a cup of coffee in less than 35 seconds". The carrier previously revealed Washington DC as a second destination for its A321XLR fleet and says the variant will be used for routes "with a special focus on America". Its remaining seven on-order jets will be delivered in coming months, it says. "We are very proud to be the first airline in the world to start flights with the A321XLR," states Iberia president Marco Sansavini. "This new aircraft model allows us to strengthen our network and plan to fly to new destinations in an efficient and comfortable way for all our customers," he adds.

Air India formally completed its merger with Vistara on 12 November, effectively leaving India with a single full-service international carrier. The Vistara merger follows the merger in October of AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India, with Air India Express, which consolidates all the Tata group carriers under the Air India Group. Singapore Airlines, which held a 49% stake in Vistara, now holds a 25.1% stake in the enlarged Air India Group. "The merger of Air India and Vistara completes the consolidation and restructuring phase of the Air India Group's post-privatisation transformation journey, and is thus a significant milestone," says chief executive Campbell Wilson. "Over the past two years, teams across the four airlines have worked closely together and with other stakeholders to ensure that the transition of people, assets, operations and, most importantly, customers, was as seamless as possible."

Spirit Airlines has disclosed that it is unable to meet a deadline for filing a third-quarter Form 10-Q report with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, citing the "unreasonable effort or expense" that would be involved in doing so. The US low-cost carrier says in a 12 November SEC filing that it has been holding "constructive discussions" with holders of its senior secured notes due 2025 and convertible senior notes due 2026. Additionally, it is "exploring strategic alternatives and other ways to improve liquidity". "The negotiations, with a supermajority of the noteholders, have remained productive, have advanced materially, and are continuing in the near term, but have also diverted significant management time and internal resources from the company's processes for reviewing and completing its financial statements and related disclosures," Spirit says. It adds: "If a definitive agreement with the noteholders is not reached, the company will consider all alternatives." Spirit estimates that its third-quarter operating margin and adjusted operating margin will each be around 12 percentage points lower than the margins reported for the same period in 2023 "due to lower total operating revenues and higher total operating expenses". On 18 October, the Miramar, Florida-based carrier averted a potential financial crisis by reaching terms with its credit-card processor to extend its 2025 notes extension deadline from 21 October 2024 to 23 December 2024, and the notes' early maturity date from 31 December 2024 to 3 March 2025. During the summer, Spirit made what chief executive Ted Christie called a "liquidity-enhancing" deal with AerCap, under which the lessor agreed to purchase 36 Airbus A320neo-family jets previously ordered from Airbus by Spirit and to lease them to the carrier upon delivery in 2027 and 2028.