Cathay Pacific does not rule out acquiring Comac aircraft – including possibly the in-development C929 widebody – in the long term, but will be studying developments closely first. Cathay chief operations and service delivery officer Alex McGowan says the airline could take an interest in a “stretched variant” of the C919 narrowbody, given the carrier’s “particular route structure and market demand”. McGowan was speaking at a briefing on 12 March, following the release of Cathay’s financial results for 2024. The C919 is in service with China’s three largest carriers, which operate it on domestic flights on the Chinese mainland. Since the start of the year, launch customer China Eastern Airlines began deploying the C919 on flights between Shanghai and Hong Kong since the start of this year. While Comac has revealed a stretched variant of the C919, it has not secured a launch customer, unlike its smaller, high-altitude variant, which has commitments from domestic operator Tibet Airlines. Responding to a question about whether Comac featured in its future fleet plans, McGowan adds that Cathay is “also keen to see” how the C929 develops – especially with its engine options – “to understand if it might potentially be a fit in our future mid-sized, widebody needs”. Reiterating comments made in the past, McGowan says: “We very much view the development of a Chinese-made, world-class aircraft as an extremely positive thing for the entire industry.” He adds: “We are very pleased to share our experience and contribute to Comac’s development, and will certainly continue to build strong relationships with them through ongoing conversations and cooperation.” Airline chief Ronald Lam led a Cathay delegation on a visit to Comac’s Shanghai headquarters in late-2024. <br/>
oneworld
Japan Airlines (JAL) has announced the signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus, Nippon Paper, Sumitomo Corporation and Green Earth Institute (GEI), to explore sourcing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) from domestic Japanese wood. In February 2025, Nippon Paper, Sumitomo Corporation and GEI signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to establish a joint venture to manufacture and sell bioethanol made from wood biomass. JAL and Airbus have since joined the project, formally titled ‘‘Morisora’, and will promote the use and expansion of domestic SAF by collaborating with businesses involved in the supply and demand of SAF. Under the MoU, the five companies will work to enable a low-carbon society by reducing greenhouse gas emissions during raw material procurement and production, and by producing and selling domestic wood-based bioethanol that has a low cycle assessment (LCA), and is compliant with the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). The Japanese flag carrier declared that it aims to promote domestically produced SAF and has set a goal of replacing 10% of all onboard fuel with SAF by 2030. By connecting the SAF suppliers with stakeholders involved in production, JAL believes it will advance the construction of a supply chain. Meanwhile, Airbus will support the work to obtain the CORSIA certification for the domestic woody biomass of this project, as well as contributing to the industry target to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.<br/>
A Malaysia Airlines flight from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur made an emergency landing at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) this evening after declaring an emergency. Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) CEO Captain Datuk Norazman Mahmud confirmed the incident. He said the Boeing 737-800 aircraft’s distress call was received at 6.02pm. “We accommodated the aircraft by allowing it to land as soon as possible. “MH720 safely landed on KLIA’s Runway 32R at 6.17pm,” he told the New Straits Times. Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 reported on its Facebook page that MH720 was squawking 7700 south of Kuala Lumpur, indicating a general emergency. Squawking 7700 is typically used for situations such as engine failure, medical emergencies, low fuel, bird strikes, airframe damage, severe icing, fires, flight control issues or depressurisation. Checks on FlightRadar24 showed that at least three Airport Fire and Rescue Service (AFRS) vehicles met the aircraft after it exited the runway. The emergency response vehicles escorted the plane to a parking bay at the airport. Norazman did not disclose the nature of the emergency, and Malaysia Airlines has yet to provide further details.<br/>