Qatar Airways says a decision to ground its entire fleet of 10 Airbus A380s due to the COVID-19 crisis has had vast benefits to the environment.

Emirates will deploy A380s on its daily Amsterdam service and add a second daily superjumbo service to London Heathrow starting from 1 August.

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has taken delivery of the first of eight Airbus A350-900 aircraft, with the launch jet set to enter commercial service on 28 January. SAS’s A350-900 features a modern three-class cabin layout with 300 seats: 40 ‘SAS Business’ class, 32 ‘SAS Plus’ class and 228 ‘SAS Go’ class seats. The airline will start to operate the new aircraft on its Copenhagen-Chicago long-haul route, followed by other international destinations including North America and Asia, namely Beijing, New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and San Francisco.

Qantas has today announced that it favours the Airbus A350-1000 for its potential non-stop ultra-long haul flights from the Australian eastcoast ports to destinations including London and New York.

Fiji Airways has accepted delivery of the first of two brand-new A350 XWB aircraft from aircraft manufacturer Airbus via a lease agreement with DAE Capital. The Nadi-based carrier is the first airline in the South Pacific to operate the wide-body aircraft type, which will deliver new levels of fuel efficiency. Fiji Airways will operate the A350 on the Nadi-Los Angeles and Sydney routes.

Air Vanuatu this week welcomed the first visit of the Airbus A220 ahead of the aircraft joining the airline’s fleet in June 2020. Air Vanuatu is the launch customer in the South Pacific region for the A220, the most advanced airliner in its class, featuring new manufacturing technologies, reduced fuel consumption and carbon emissions, lower operating costs and a more attractive passenger cabin.

Air France has taken delivery of its first Airbus A350 at the Airbus delivery centre in Toulouse. The aircraft is equipped with 324 seats, with 34 in the Business cabin, 24 in Premium Economy and 266 in Economy.

Fiji Airways’ first of two Airbus A350 XWBs has rolled out of the Airbus paint shop in Toulouse, France featuring the airline’s signature livery. The aircraft, an A350-900, will be the first of its kind operated by an airline in the South Pacific region.

Hawaiian Airlines will launch a new four-times-weekly service between Maui Kahului Airport and Las Vegas’ McCarren International Airport from 15 December, 2019. The new route will be operated by Hawaiian Airlines’ new narrow-body Airbus A321neo aircraft.

Aircalin has this week taken delivery of the first of two A330neo aircraft from Airbus at a ceremony in Toulouse, France as part of the airline’s fleet renewal strategy. The new jets are five metres longer than Aircalin’s existing A330-200s, enabling capacity to be increased by 25 seats.

Air Vanuatu has signed a firm order with Airbus for four Airbus A220 aircraft. Air Vanuatu’s first ever order with Airbus makes it the launch operator of the A220 in the Pacific region. The order includes two A220-100 series aircraft with 108 seats and two A220-300 series aircraft with 133 seats.

Airbus and Emirates reached an agreement on outstanding A380 deliveries. The airline will receive 14 more A380s from 2019 until the end of 2021, taking its total A380 order book to 123 units.