Airbus has agreed to reschedule deliveries of new aircraft to Spirit Airlines initially intended to arrive in the second quarter of 2025 through the end of 2026, a deferment the US carrier says will save it $340 million over the next two years. The aircraft will instead be delivered in a 2030-2031 timeframe, the US airline states. Miramar, Florida-based Spirit's newly disclosed cash-saving efforts include the furloughing of approximately 260 pilots, effective 1 September, made necessary by fleet-size limitations caused by Pratt & Whitney geared-turbofan engine availability issues, along with the aircraft deferrals. Spirit and JetBlue Airways in early March terminated the merger agreement they agreed in July 2022, seven weeks after a US district court judge ruled in favour of the Department of Justice after it challenged the deal on competition grounds. The court's ruling blocked an influx of capital to Spirit from JetBlue. "This amendment to our agreement with Airbus is an important part of Spirit's comprehensive plan to bolster profitability and strengthen our balance sheet," Spirit chief executive Ted Christie states. "Deferring these aircraft gives us the opportunity to reset the business and focus on the core airline while we adjust to changes in the competitive environment." The deferral agreement with Airbus follows a compensation deal made with Pratt & Whitney affiliate International Aero Engines to receive a monthly credit in relation to the grounding of PW1100G-JM-powered Airbus A320neos. Spirit has on order 77 and 40 A321neos and A320neos, respectively. The deferral agreement with Airbus does not affect the number of Airbus aircraft Spirit has on order, the carrier says.

United Airlines is delaying the start of new Tokyo-Cebu and Newark-Faro routes as the carrier faces greater scrutiny from the US Federal Aviation Administration. The daily Cebu service was scheduled to start on 31 July but has been pushed back to the start of the northern winter scheduling season on 27 October. United's four-weekly services to Faro had been planned to start on 24 May but has now been pushed to the summer of 2025. "Impacted customers can receive full refunds or we will rebook their travel on one of our partner airlines without a fee," the airline states. The schedule change is a consequence of the FAA pausing some certification activities amid a safety probe into the airline. On 23 March, the regulator said that after "recent safety events" it was "increasing oversight of United Airlines to ensure that it is complying with safety regulations, identifying hazards and mitigating risk; and effectively managing safety". The FAA added at the time: "Certification activities in process may be allowed to continue, but future projects may be delayed based on findings from oversight."

Two Russian nationals have pleaded guilty to a scheme in which they conspired to evade US export laws and regulations and unlawfully send aircraft parts to Russia. The US Department of Justice notes that the scheme began in spring 2022, shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February of that year and the USA enacted enhanced sanctions on Russia. "These defendants smuggled sensitive aircraft technology into Russia following its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and did so in violation of laws designed to protect America's national security," US attorney general Merrick Garland states. The Russian nationals – Oleg Sergeyevhich Patsulya and Vasilii Sergeyevich Besedin, both residents of Florida – pleaded guilty specifically to conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act in connection with their efforts to acquire and unlawfully export controlled aviation technology to Russia. Patsulya also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit international money laundering, the DOJ adds. Patsulya and Besedin conspired with "several others" beginning approximately in May 2022 through May 2023 to acquire aircraft parts from US suppliers – including a supplier based in Arizona – and unlawfully export the parts to Russian commercial airlines. "The defendants admitted to knowing the items were controlled and required a license from the Department of Commerce to export," the DOJ says. Among their smuggling efforts, Patsulya and Besedin exported carbon disc brake systems used on Boeing 737 aircraft, telling US suppliers of the brake system that the parts were intended for countries other than Russia. During the scheme's timespan, US bank accounts associated with a company controlled by Patsulya received approximately $4.6 million sent from Russian airlines through Turkish bank accounts to purchase aircraft parts and components intended for unlawful export, the DOJ says.