Airbus delivered 71 aircraft to 42 customers in October, bringing the total number of deliveries for the first 10 months in 2023 to 559 units to 81 customers. The European airframer says a total of ten widebody aircraft were delivered, including eight A350s and two A330s. Air India received two A350-900s, while Iberia, Starlux, China Eastern Airlines, Air France, Asiana Airlines, and Sichuan Airlines all received one each. One of the A330-900s was sent to Air Lease Corporation, which is scheduled to be delivered to ITA Airways, with the other being delivered to Delta Air Lines. Airbus delivered a total of 61 narrowbody aircraft in October 2023 including nine A220s to Breeze Airways, Delta Air Lines, Comlux, ITA Airways, Bulgaria Air and Air France. Out of the 23 A320neos that were delivered, four were delivered to Saudi Arabia's Flynas, and two were delivered to Spirit Airlines. Korean Air took delivery of two A321neos, with other airlines such as Vietjet Air, Air New Zealand, and Gulf Air. Airbus says that the orders so far this year have reached 1,399 aircraft with a net total of 1,334 units after cancellations. In October 2023, Airbus took orders for a total of 119 units and the largest of those orders came from United Airlines, which placed an order for 60 A321neos. Cathay Pacific also made a purchase of eight A320neos and 24 A321neos. Air Niugini, the flag carrier of Papua New Guinea, ordered six A220s. Three undisclosed customers also placed orders for eight A220s, three A321neos, and ten A350-900s.

Madagascar Airlines has disclosed that its financial situation is "critical", and plans to address this with a temporary suspension of long-haul services and refocusing on its domestic network. The creation of Madagascar Airlines as a merger of Tsaradia and Air Madagascar was announced in 2021 amid the launch of a restructuring plan. In the last nine months of 2022, the carrier accumulated losses of about $25 million, and it expects to report "approximately the same" for the same period this year, it says. It adds that debts have "significantly worsened" over an 18-month period, to reach $36 million. The losses are attributed by the airline to its attempts to maintain a long-haul operation through wet-lease arrangements and the high price of fuel. The combination of the wet-lease expenditure and the cost of fuel has resulted in monthly losses of $2.8 million. "Heavy operating losses on the long haul... quickly dried up the company's cash flow, leading to the impossibility of paying our suppliers, including for the purchase of parts and maintenance equipment," says the airline, noting that this "had the effect of triggering a vicious circle". Delays in maintenance have rendered a large portion of the ATR turboprop fleet unavailable, leading to numerous delays and cancellations. Madagascar Airlines has appointed Mamy Rakotondraibe as board chair and it is looking to implement a new business plan called Phoenix 2030. The carrier asserts that profitability, development and renewal are within its reach provided that ambitious but reasonable fleet and investment choices are made. While a "temporary" suspension of European long-haul flights has been decided upon, the airline will continue to maintain its international codeshare with French operator Corsair. Madagascar Airlines plans to "restore the fundamentals" by shifting its focus to the domestic network, restructuring the ATR fleet, and replenishing its maintenance capabilities. Fleets data lists Tsaradia as having four ATR 72-500s in service or storage: two leased from Abelo and two from Falko. The domestic operator has two ATR 72-600s in service – both leased from Abelo – and three more on order. Madagascar Airlines' chief executive Thierry de Bailleul describes the suspension of long-haul services as a "necessary evil" that will enable it to "straighten out" its accounts without the need for public funds. "By refocusing on the domestic network for a few months, Madagascar Airlines will be able to redress its accounts and regain profitability," he adds. The carrier will resume long-haul services "within a few months" once it is in position to operate dry-lease flights, de Bailleul predicts.

Korean Air chairman Walter Cho admits that the decision for Asiana Airlines to sell its cargo arm to secure merger approval from the European Commission was one that "hurts" but is looking to clear remaining approvals from competition regulators in 2024. Speaking at the Airline Economics Growth Frontiers conference in Singapore, Cho says the flag carrier's decision to acquire compatriot Asiana that began three years ago has "been very tough". "If I had knew it was this difficult, I would have had second thoughts about it," Cho says. Korean Air's acquisition of Asiana is pending competition approvals from the European Commission, the USA and Japan. "We certainly gone through the biggest milestone yet with the European Commission," Cho says, referring to Asiana's recent approval of a plan to sell its cargo unit after the conclusion of the merger with Korean Air. Commenting on Asiana's board approval to sell its cargo unit, Cho says the divestment "wasn't an easy decision" and that "it hurts". "But [in] long term, I made a promise to our people, our company, and Asiana, and they high hopes for it, so I had to do what had to be done… [For] the bigger picture, I had to do what I had to," he says, adding that he believes the airline "can make up for it later on". "US and European [competition regulators] have very different demands, and we're meeting all of them as best we can, hopefully it's satisfactory for them. [It's the same thing with Japan], they asked for their own remedies and we've met that also. They are just waiting for us on the cargo side [for] the remedy plan which will happen next year." "I'm very positive that we've done everything they've asked for and beyond and this deal will go through… probably next year, we'll get everything completed," he adds.