Qatar Airways has signed a $96 billion deal to acquire 210 Boeing 787 and 777X aircraft powered by GE Aerospace engines, according to a 14 May White House press release. "This is Boeing's largest-ever widebody order and largest-ever 787 order. This historic agreement will support 154,000 US jobs annually, totalling over 1 million jobs in the United States during the course of production and delivery of this deal," the White House says. In July 2024, Boeing revealed that Qatar Airways placed an order for 20 777-9s attributed to an undisclosed customer in data published by the airframer after the deal was finalised earlier that year. The order brought Qatar's firm orders for the 777X to 94. The Doha-based carrier has further outstanding Boeing orders for eight 787-9s, Cirium fleets data shows. With Airbus, it has orders for 50 A321neos and 18 A350-1000s. GE Aerospace chairman and chief executive Larry Culp says in a statement GE Aerospace shared with Cirium: "We are extremely honoured to deepen our relationship with Qatar Airways and grateful to them for placing their trust in us with our largest-ever widebody engine deal. Our widebody engines – the GE9X and GEnx – are marvels of modern engineering, with the durability and reliability to power flight across the longest distances. We appreciate President Trump's support for this historic agreement."

Azul's negotiations with the parent of Gol to merge with that Brazilian carrier are ongoing, Azul president Abhi Shah has indicated. Speaking on 14 May during an earnings call, Shah said that "the discussions continue" and are taking place on "many parallel fronts, including valuation, including antitrust, documentation, all those kinds of things". Gol parent Abra Group and Azul on 15 January signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding "with the intent to explore a combination of their businesses in Brazil", Abra and Brazil-based Azul said at the time. They added: "Upon consummation of such a transaction, Gol and Azul companies would be expected to keep their independent brands and operating certificates." In January 2024, Gol filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the USA, and has targeted June 2025 for emergence from the reorganisation process. On 9 May 2025, Gol noted that confirmation of its reorganisation plan by the Chapter 11 court is expected to occur by the end of May 2025, and that verification of the plan's effective date is expected during the first half of June 2025. It adds that these dates are tentative and subject to change. Shah said on 14 May that Abra has "always made it clear that Gol was going to exit [Chapter 11] first" before it would finalise a merger deal, adding: "that was always part of the plan". Cirium has contacted Abra Group for comment. Speaking onstage at the ISTAT Americas conference in Phoenix on 3 March, Azul founder and chairman David Neeleman noted that Azul had received "good signals" from Brazilian competition authority CADE over its proposed merger with Gol. In May, Fitch downgraded long-term foreign and local currency issuer default ratings (IDRs) for Azul, citing its "inability to effectively improve liquidity". Azul chief executive John Rodgerson stated on 14 May that the carrier had "made significant progress in reducing our debt and leverage, and we remain in ongoing discussions with our partners to optimise our capital structure and liquidity position even further".

Southwest Airlines has applied to the US Department of Transportation for authorisation to fly to all countries that the USA has an open skies bilateral air services agreement. The application, which seeks the authority for an "indefinite period", also seeks permission to fly to any country with which the USA in future forms an Open-Skies partnership, according to a copy of the application filed 13 May. Southwest notes in its application that it has "repeatedly been found fit, willing, and able to provide interstate and foreign air transportation" and currently holds a "wide range of authorities" from the DOT. It argues that approval is in the public interest because it will "promote competition and increase the traveling public's ability to access Southwest's high-quality, low-fare service". Southwest has an in service and stored fleet of 808 aircraft, split between Boeing 737 Max and 737NG jets. Southwest advised in response to a request for comment on the filing: "No news to share and not necessarily indicative of anything forthcoming. We've been an international carrier for a decade plus and with this filing we're taking advantage of the DOT's streamlined regulatory procedures for international authority." Schedules data shows that Southwest operates 53 international routes, primarily to destinations in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.