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Romanian flag-carrier Tarom has secured European Commission clearance for a financial restructuring package, which it will use for initiatives including fleet renewal. The Romanian transport minister, Sorin Grindeanu, says the package amounts to E95.26m of which E49.53m represents rescue aid – plus interest – granted in 2020. Along with fleet modernisation, he says, the funding will support “optimisation” of commercial policy and the carrier’s network. It will also contribute to efficiency improvements in aircraft maintenance activities as well as digitisation efforts, including ticket distribution, across the company. Grindeanu adds that the financing will cover a “liquidity deficit” for this year. The Commission says the measures will allow Tarom to “restore its long-term viability” while “minimising” distortion of competition. “To limit any possible competition distortions triggered by the public support, Tarom will significantly downsize its number of routes and aircraft,” says competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager. Romania’s government had notified the Commission of a restructuring plan in May 2021, during the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic.<br/>

China Southern said it will buy 100 Comac C919 jets, bolstering the streak of recent orders for the local planemaker vying for a role alongside incumbents Boeing Co. and Airbus. The Guangzhou-based carrier’s purchase is valued at US$9.9b at list prices, it said in an a filing Monday. The deal means China’s three largest state-owned carriers have now ordered a combined 300 single-aisle jets from Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd., while maintaining large a backlog with Airbus and Boeing. China Eastern Airlines Corp Ltd. kicked off the mega-orders on Sept. 29, striking a deal with the planemaker better known as Comac for 100 single-aisle aircraft. Last week, Air China also announced a plan to buy 100 units of the jet, which is similar in size to the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737.<br/>

China Southern Airlines is launching its first-ever direct passenger flight from the megacity of Shenzhen to Mexico City, which will set the record as the longest nonstop regular commercial flight to originate in China. The flight will cover an intercontinental distance of around 14,147 kilometers (8,790 miles) in each direction. The inaugural flight will depart from the Chinese southern metropolis of Shenzhen on May 11, making a 16-hour nonstop journey to Mexico City, according to information available from China Southern Airlines. The flight will depart on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Flying the other way around is a little more grueling, with an estimated flight time of 21 hours and 20 minutes. It will begin service on Wednesdays and Sundays from May 12. The slightly longer route to China includes a brief refueling stopover at Tijuana, during which passengers have to stay on board. The roundtrip journey uses the flight code CZ8031/2 and will be serviced by Airbus A350 aircraft, according to reporting from SZ News, a state-affiliate news outlet based in Shenzhen. The upcoming route overtakes China Southern Airlines’ Guangzhou to New York flight, which covers a distance of 12,871 kilometers, as the furthest nonstop commercial flight to depart from a Chinese airport. Currently, the 15,332 kilometer Singapore to New York route operated by Singapore Airlines claims the top spot as the world’s longest nonstop flight, which runs around 19 hours in each direction.<br/>