China’s aviation regulator said on Monday that it would suspend Air France from operating four Paris-Tianjin flights from Nov. 29 due to COVID-19 cases. Eleven passengers on an Air France flight on Nov. 12 tested positive upon arrival in the country, said the Civil Aviation Administration of China in a statement on its website.<br/>
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China Airlines has taken delivery of its first Airbus A321neo, which it will operate on regional routes, as it unveils updated cabin products for the narrowbody. The SkyTeam carrier’s first A321neo, powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines, is the first of six jets leased from US firm Air Lease. China Airlines had in 2019 disclosed that it has entered a provisional agreement for 11 A321neos, with another 14 examples on lease. The A321neos will replace the carrier’s existing fleet of Boeing 737-800s, and will “become China Airlines’ mainstay on regional routes”, says the airline. The aircraft seats 180 passengers across two classes – 12 in premium business class, as well as 168 in economy class. The carrier says it has “fine-tuned” its regional cabin products, including having fully-flat business class seats, as well as featuring contactless inflight entertainment systems. It adds: “In a first for the [Taiwanese] airline industry, smart link support has been introduced by China Airlines. All passengers can now connect to the inflight entertainment system via their personal mobile phone and Bluetooth headphones.” China Airlines states that the aircraft will now undergo “preparation and certification” processes in Taiwan, before service entry.<br/>
Aeroflot reported on Monday its first quarterly net profit since 2019 as a recovery of domestic and international traffic accelerated. Aeroflot, whose shares rose by 1.6% to 0941 GMT, said its net profit in Q3 was 11.6b roubles ($155m) compared to a loss of 21.14b roubles a year ago. Aeroflot's domestic traffic has grown as Russia refrained from imposing a complete lockdown during a new wave of infections. In Q3, Aeroflot's passenger numbers on the domestic market were 27.4% higher than the same period in 2019, before the pandemic. "We also took maximum advantage of the gradual lifting of restrictions in the international segment, and this also had a significant positive impact on the results," Andrey Chikhanchin, Aeroflot’s Deputy CEO for Commerce and Finance, said. Berenberg analysts said on Monday new lockdowns in parts of Europe and the spread of the new Omicron coronavirus variant threatened the global recovery in air travel. Aeroflot's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) in Q3 was 54.05b roubles, compared to 20.09b roubles a year ago. The company said it planned to maintain strict cost control as its fuel costs jumped by 41.7% year on year in the first nine months of 2021. Aeroflot said this month it would raise the fuel charge on its domestic and international routes because of rising jet fuel costs.<br/>