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Qantas has firmed options on 6 additional Boeing 787-9s and announced that it will retire its 747 fleet by 2020. Once delivered, the new jets will take its 787 fleet to 14 units, which will feature a common 236 seat configuration and will be powered by General Electric GEnx engines. Qantas has 4 787s in service, with 4 more due for delivery by the end of the year. The new batch will then be delivered from late 2019 to mid-to-late 2020. The arrival of those jets will facilitate the retirement of its remaining 747-400s. Qantas is also advancing with its ‘Project Sunrise’ project, which is expected to see it place an order for Airbus A350-900ULRs or Boeing 777-8s to allow it to operate nonstop flights from Australia’s east coast to Europe and the US west coast. <br/>

Qatar Airways is considering loaning planes including wide-body models to British Airways in a move that would soak up excess capacity at the Gulf carrier while easing fleet pressures at the UK operator as some of its own Boeing 787 jets get emergency overhauls. Qatar Air is evaluating the situation and could trim frequencies on some routes to free up aircraft for BA, whose parent IAG is 20% owned by the Mideast group, CE Akbar Al Baker said. While Qatar Air previously loaned Airbus A320 jets to British Airways after a Saudi-led blockade forced it to close some Gulf routes, the transfer currently under scrutiny would be the first involving long-haul planes. Al Baker has said his company suffered a significant loss in the year through March, partly as a result of westbound flights being diverted to avoid closed airspace. <br/>

Qatar Airways would back partially-owned IAG if it decides to proceed with a takeover of Norwegian Air Shuttle, Qatar's CE said, while declining to give further details of his plans to set up a new airline. Qatar Airways is IAG's biggest shareholder, theoretically giving it some sway over IAG's strategy, which could involve the acquisition of Norwegian. As for Qatar Airway's own strategy, CE Akbar al-Baker was tight-lipped over plans revealed in April to set up a new airline, other than to repeat that he was interested in establishing an Indian domestic carrier. When asked if he was interested in setting up a new airline in a country other than India he replied: "Maybe", declining to give further details or say whether it would be a low-cost airline. <br/>

American Airlines will suspend service to Beijing Capital from Chicago O'Hare in October, amid a number of network changes this fall. The carrier cites a weak fare environment for its decision to suspend its 6-times weekly service to Beijing Capital airport from Chicago with its last eastbound flight Oct 22. The carrier operates a Boeing 787-8 on the route. American plans to seek a dormancy waiver from the US DoT for the US-China frequencies that it utilises for the Chicago-Beijing route, and seek to relaunch the service to Beijing Daxing airport when it opens in 2019. China Southern Airlines, which the US carrier has an equity partnership with, plans a major base at the new airport. American has operated the Chicago-Beijing route since 2010. <br/>

American Airlines Group is nearing an order for about 15 regional jets from Bombardier with options to buy more, people familiar with the matter said. A deal for the CRJ900 aircraft is likely to be announced as soon as Thursday, when Bombardier reports Q1 results, said one of the people. The sale would have a list value of about US$700m before customary discounts for aircraft purchases. An order from American would give a boost to the venerable CRJ program, which Bombardier has acknowledged neglecting as the company invested $6b in developing its all-new C Series single-aisle jetliner. As Bombardier worked on the C Series, its regional jets lost ground to Embraer, which is equipping its latest planes with upgraded engines. <br/>