Turkish Airlines has predicted that groundings of its Airbus A320neo-family aircraft will increase next year as it continues to be affected by the enhanced maintenance checks required by their Pratt & Whitney GTF engines. Currently, the Star Alliance carrier has 35 aircraft grounded because of the issue, a mix of A320neos and A321neos, head of investor relations Mehmet Fatih Korkmaz revealed during a second-quarter results briefing on 6 August. Groundings are set to stay level until year-end before rising to 40-45 in 2026, although there is "some uncertainty" about the exact figure. "It won't exceed this number, with our projections," adds Korkmaz. Resolving the issue is an "ongoing process" and "we still have a lot of Neos grounded", he notes. Fleet data shows that Turkish currently has 87 A320neo-family aircraft in its fleet. Groundings added around 1 percentage point to the airline's costs per ASK in the second quarter, excluding fuel expenses. During last year's second-quarter results presentation, held on 7 August 2024, Korkmaz said the airline had 32 A320neos aircraft grounded by GTF issues and expected to rise to 45 by the end of the year before falling back. In his latest comments, Korkmaz notes that Turkish Airlines also has two cargo aircraft currently grounded because of maintenance issues. Ground-events data lists an A330F and an A310F that have been parked at Istanbul airport since last month. Turkish Airlines operates 25 freighters in total (11 Airbus A330s, eight Boeing 777s, three A310s, two A321s and one 747).

Thai Airways International reported an operating profit before finance costs of B10.18 billion ($315 million) for the quarter ended 30 June, up 72% year on year, primarily due to a decrease in fuel and aircraft maintenance costs. The carrier generated revenue of Bt44.8 billion, up just 1.9% from a year ago, as operating expenses fell 9% to Bt34.6 billion. Meanwhile, its net profit came in at Bt12.13 billion, compared with Bt314 million a year ago, largely due to gains made on aircraft lease terminations that amounted to B4.98 billion. In the first six months of the year, the carrier agreed to purchase four Boeing 777-300ERs that was previously on operating leases. The purchase, the carrier adds, also contributed to a decrease in maintenance costs. During the quarter, Thai carried 3.97 million passengers, up 4.2%, as it saw yields fall 13.4%, on the back on increased competition, it states. ASKs were up 9.7%, while RPKs were up 15.6%, as its load factor gained 3.8 percentage points to 77%. For the first six months of the year, the carrier posted an operating profit of Bt24.6 billion, up 45% year on year. During the period, it generated a revenue of Bt96.4 billion, up 7.2%, as operating expenses fell 1.5% to Bt71.9 billion. For the first half of the year, its net profit surged to Bt22 billion, compared with B2.72 billion a year ago. Thai had 78 operational and two unused aircraft in its fleet as of the end of the quarter, with 11 of the aircraft owned by the company, while the remaining are under lease agreements. It is expecting the deliveries of its new Airbus A321neos to start from the end of this year. The carrier has 32 of the type on order, delivering through 2028, all of which will be on operating leases, Cirium fleets data shows. The carrier also has 51 787s on order, with delivery scheduled between 2026 and 2033. As of 30 June, Thai's cash and cash equivalents stood at B120 billion, up 4.4% compared with the end of last year. For the rest of the year, the carrier notes that the Thai economy faces "increased uncertainty" as a results of trade negotiations with the US, while potential conflict could lead to higher fuel costs. At the same time, it notes that Thai international arrivals have been declining on the back of lacklustre Chinese arrivals. It adds, however, that the country's tourism agency is hoping to shore up safety confidence with Chinese travellers as it looks to pivot to other regions such as South Asia, Southeast Asia and Europe.

Lufthansa has become the latest major European airline group to withdraw from takeover negotiations with Air Europa. The German group says that after "thorough analyses and intense negotiations, we have at this stage decided against further engaging in a capital contribution and shareholding in Air Europa". This follows a Reuters report that Air France-KLM's discussions with Air Europa had broken down, and appears to leave only Turkish Airlines still in takeover talks with the Spanish carrier. IAG had previously sought to take a majority stake but pulled back last year, citing regulators' competition concerns. It retains a 20% holding. The remainder is held by the family-owned Globalia.