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Franco-Dutch airlines group Air France-KLM has offered E300m for a 51% stake in Spanish airline Air Europa, news website El Confidencial said on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources close to the negotiations. Air France-KLM, which said in November talks were underway, would also take over Air Europa's E475m debt owed to the Spanish government, El Confidencial added. The offer comes one month after two sources with knowledge of the talks told Reuters German rival Lufthansa was considering making an offer for a minority stake in Air Europa. El Confidencial said on Tuesday Lufthansa was offering E240m for a 25% stake. The Spanish airline is 20% owned by BA-parent IAG, which backed out of taking full ownership last year due to regulatory concerns. Air Europa, owned by Spanish family group Globalia, flies within Spain and between Madrid and large cities in Europe and Latin America.<br/>

Korean Air will push for quality-driven growth by making sustainable investment for aircraft maintenance and safety, even after finalizing the airline’s acquisition of Asiana Airlines, its chairman said Tuesday. “Korean Air will rise to become the world’s 11th-largest airline (by number of annual passengers) after the merger, but I would prefer to achieve quality-focused growth, rather than achieving such an external growth,” Chairman Cho Won-tae said during a press conference at its headquarters at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul. Cho also chairs Hanjin Group. Cho pledged to accomplish the vision by injecting enough capital for the safety of its converged entities, such as Air Busan and Air Seoul — two low-cost carriers (LCCs) that will be incorporated into Jin Air. Korean Air is set to finish the deal next year, and is also scheduled to launch the converged Jin Air around the end of 2026. Jin Air is an affiliate of Korean Air. “Korean Air will continue making investment, so we can cover aircraft maintenance for all of the converged airlines,” he said. Cho also said the airline will “announce soon” details on the controversial merger of mileage points from Korean Air and Asiana Airlines. The flag carrier has remained in a state of dilemma on the issue, as Korean Air’s points are generally valued higher in the market. “We are aware customers are very sensitive to mileage points,” he said. “Our goal is to find a reasonable middle ground that can be understandable from the perspective of customers. We will announce details shortly.”<br/>

Korean Air will postpone planned retirements of its Airbus A380s and Boeing 747-8s amid ongoing delays in new aircraft deliveries. Airline chief Walter Cho says Korean will keep operating the two aircraft types “until we get our new planes”, but stops short of disclosing a timeline. Cho was speaking at a briefing in Seoul, where Korean Air unveiled its new corporate identity ahead of its merger with compatriot Asiana Airlines in two years. Outlining the extent of delays, Cho says the SkyTeam operator is “about 20 aircraft short” from previous targets, which has impacted its aircraft retirements, as well as its ability to grow capacity. The airline holds orders for Airbus and Boeing aircraft including the A321neo, A350s, 787s, 737 Max and 777-9s. “As soon we get those new aircraft, the older [747s and A380s] will be phased out,” says Cho. The airline had previously indicated that the A380 would begin exiting the fleet from 2025, after being in operations for over 12 years, but Cho confirms that plans have been put off indefinitely. Airline Business data shows Korean operating seven A380s. Cho acknowledged that keeping the older four-engined jets “will come at a cost” to the airline, but notes: “Even some of the newer…newly-developed aircraft in our fleet have not been meeting their promises on efficiency.” <br/>

China Airlines has promoted its president Kao Shing-Hwang as its new chairman, after the death of its previous chair. Taking over from Kao as the airline’s new president is Chen Han-ming, who was chairman of China Airlines’ low-cost unit Tigerair Taiwan. Both Kao and Chen assumed their post on 10 March, following a board meeting. The leadership change follows the death of former chair Hsieh Su-Chien in January. Kao is an airline veteran of nearly 40 years, having joined in 1986 as a cabin attendant, before becoming a cadet pilot with the airline. He took helm of the airline in 2021 amid the Covid-19 pandemic, with a focus on “optimisation of overall operations, and enhancing competitiveness”. Kao was appointed acting chair in January this year after the Hsieh’s death. As for Chen, he joined China Airlines’ board in 2016 and “is fully conversant with the group’s operations and airline governance”, says the carrier. He was appointed Tigerair Taiwan chair in 2020, and is credited with helping the low-cost carrier “become a successful brand that delivered outstanding results in 2023 and 2024”.<br/>