Rex Airlines parent company Regional Express Holdings halted the trading of its shares before market opening on 29 July following reports that turnaround specialists had been appointed to assist the airline. An Australian Securities Exchange announcement shows that the halt was requested until 31 July or once a "material announcement in relation to a news article published on Saturday, 27th July" is made. That appears to be a reference to a report in The Australian newspaper that claims the company has appointed Deloitte partners Sal Algeri and Richard Hughes to advise it on a potential turnaround. Hughes and Algeri, alongside two other Deloitte partners, were appointed as administrators of Virgin Australia in April 2020, under which they were able to restructure and sell the airline Deloitte referred all enquiries to Rex. The report comes amid a boardroom dispute at the carrier after former executive chairman Lim Kim Hai lodged a request for a shareholder meeting on 8 July, seeking to remove four directors including chairman John Sharp and install two other directors. Lim had been the executive chairman of the company for 21 years until 5 June when Rex announced that chief operating officer Neville Howell would become its chief executive, while Sharp was elevated from deputy chair to non-executive chairman. Rex halved its loss before tax in the six months to December 2023 to A$2 million ($1.31 million) from A$15.7 million in the previous corresponding period, as the previously regional-focused airline continued to grow its Boeing 737 fleet and the expansion onto domestic trunk routes. Despite predicting revenue growth for the fiscal year ended 30 June, the airline did not provide any profit guidance, and has remained tight-lipped about its financial performance. Fleets data shows that Rex has nine 737-800s and 38 Saab 340Bs in operation, and a further 19 of the latter in storage. Rex also operates in Australia's charter market through wholly-owned subsidiary Pel-Air, and a 50% shareholding in National Jet Express.

Saudi Arabian low-cost carrier Flynas has reached a memorandum of understanding with Airbus to order 75 A320neo narrowbodies and 15 A330-900 widebodies. The A330-900s will be configured with 400 seats across a two-class layout, Airbus says. Flynas chief executive Bander Almohanna credits the A320neo family with "exceptional operational performance and environmental benefits, allowing us to offer unique, low-cost travel experiences". The A330neo, meanwhile, "will enhance our long-haul capabilities with its advanced technology and efficiency while supporting our growth plans and Saudi Arabia's pilgrim programme", he adds. Feets data shows that Flynas has 53 CFM International Leap-powered A320neos, four A320ceos equipped with CFM56s, six A330-300s, and three A330-900s. The A330ceos are fitted with Rolls-Royce Trent 700s, while the A330neo is exclusively powered by Trent 7000s. Prior to the latest agreement, Flynas had 67 A320neos and 10 A321XLRs on order, all to be Leap-powered. Airbus asserts that the A330neo delivers "unbeatable operating economics".

US low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines intends to drop its long-standing open-seat, single-class cabin policy, and begin assigning seats and offering "premium seating options" to customers. "We are taking urgent and deliberate steps to mitigate near-term revenue challenges and implement longer-term transformational initiatives that are designed to drive meaningful top and bottom-line growth," Southwest chief executive Bob Jordan states. "Our implementation of assigned and premium seating is part of an ongoing and comprehensive upgrade to the customer experience, one that research shows customers overwhelmingly prefer." Southwest reported second-quarter unit revenue that was 4% down versus the second quarter 2023, a decline that the Dallas-based company says is an outcome of "industry-wide domestic capacity growth outpacing demand". Southwest forecasts that third-quarter unit revenue will be flat to down 2% year on year. Its second-quarter operating profit of $398 million slid 50% from the $795 profit made in the second quarter of 2023, on $7.4 billion in total revenue and expenses of $7 billion. Capacity in the second quarter had been raised 9% year on year. Like its rival US carriers, Southwest is scaling back its capacity plans for the rest of 2024 to counteract falling ticket prices. It estimates that it will raise third-quarter capacity 2% versus the same period in 2023, and reduce fourth-quarter capacity 4%. The timing of its new offerings and cabin layout will be discussed during the carrier's investor day in late September. Jordan, who has lately been fending off calls for his removal by activist investor Elliott Management, adds: "Our second-quarter performance was impacted by both external and internal factors and fell short of what we believe we are capable of delivering. "The Southwest Airlines board of directors, our leadership team, and I are all aligned and committed to serving the interests of and creating lasting value for our shareholders, who have provided us with highly valuable and candid feedback on our performance and path forward." Southwest ended the second quarter with $10 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, and current liabilities of $14 billion. During the period it received five Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft and retired six 737-700 aircraft and one -800 aircraft. The all-737 carrier ended the second quarter with 817 aircraft. "Given the company's ongoing discussions with Boeing and expected aircraft delivery delays, [we continue] to plan for approximately 20 [Max 8] aircraft deliveries in 2024," Southwest says.