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.

Taiwanese carrier EVA Air has ordered 18 Airbus A350-1000s and 15 A321neos from the European airframe. In a filing to Taiwan's stock exchange, the airline says the order, approved by its board on 7 November, has a total value that will not exceed $10.1 billion. Unit prices for the A350s and A321neos will not exceed $436 million or $150 million respectively, EVA adds. A350s are powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWBs, while customers for A320neo-family jets can opt between CFM International Leap-1A and Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines. Separately, EVA has disclosed that it will extend leases on 12 A321ceos with BOC Aviation. The airline says the "total right-of-use asset amount" is NT$5.3 billion ($165 million). Fleets data shows that EVA has 19 CFM International CFM56-powered A321s, including 12 on lease from BOC Aviation. Another two are managed by Bocomm Leasing, two by Jackson Square Aviation, and one each by AerCap, SMBC Aviation Capital and Merx Aviation. Aged between seven and nine years, the BOC Aviation-managed aircraft are the youngest A321s in EVA Air's fleet. The oldest is 10 years old. EVA's fleet additionally includes 12 GE Aerospace CF6-powered A330s, 13 787s with GEnx-1Bs, 34 Boeing 777-300ERs, and eight 777 Freighters. GE90 engines exclusively power 777-300ERs and 777Fs. The carrier has another 13 787s and one 777F on order.

The US Department of Transportation has approved complaints from JetBlue and Airlines for America (A4A) against the Dutch government and European Union in relation to flight curtailments at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport (AMS) related to noise and emissions. "The department finds that, because the Netherlands has failed to follow the balanced approach, the phase 1 capacity reduction measures being undertaken at AMS constitute unjustifiable and unreasonable activities under IATFCPA, and are in violation of the of the US- EU Air Transport Agreement," it states in a 2 November filing, referring to the International Air Transportation Fair Competitive Practices Act of 1974. The DOT says it will require Dutch carriers – namely, KLM, Martinair, and TUI Airlines Nederland – to file schedules for all of their services to and from the United States. New York-based JetBlue joined an earlier complaint against the Dutch government and European Union lodged on 22 September by trade group A4A, and later lodged its own complaint because it feared losing the ability to serve Schiphol altogether, and thought the DOT should take action sooner. JetBlue noted that it is "uniquely situated among US carriers because it faces actual expulsion from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol at the end of the winter 2023/2024 scheduling season". The DOT said at the time it was considering the complaints. On 2 November the department said it had raised "significant concerns and objections" to the Dutch government’s methodology for implementing noise reduction plans at Schiphol and argues the Dutch side has "yet to put forward any persuasive argument" that its actions are in conformity with the US-EU Air Transport Agreement. The department goes on to say that it remains concerned that opportunities for new entrants to operate at Schiphol will be precluded. "Indeed, we find particularly alarming that JetBlue, a relative new entrant at AMS, has been notified that it will receive no slots for the summer 2024 season," the DOT says. "While we are careful to not conflate slots with traffic rights under the US-EU Agreement, we are deeply troubled by the notion that new entrants will be completely foreclosed from slot access at AMS, without any secondary or alternative means to obtain access at AMS, particularly if those alternative options are precluded on a basis that is discriminatory toward unaligned or unaffiliated carriers." The DOT will consult with the Dutch government and European Commission on 13 November. "It is our hope that these consultations will result in meaningful progress towards resolution, without our needing to pursue further regulatory action," it says. "However, should consultations fail to produce a meaningful path toward resolving this matter in a timely and satisfactory fashion, the department stands ready to consider any further action that may be appropriate."