A US bankruptcy court will allow Grupo Aeromexico, which operates Mexico's largest airline, to increase the size of its fleet of planes, the company said in a statement on Friday. Last week, Aeromexico agreed to purchase two dozen Boeing planes as part of a deal that should yield an estimated $2b in savings due to better conditions in some long-term maintenance for its existing fleet and leasing contracts. read more The first new planes will be incorporated into its fleet this year, including nine that should be in operation by this summer, while the rest are expected to arrive later in the year as well as in 2022, the airline has said.<br/>
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China said on Friday that Air France's weekly passenger service to Shanghai would be suspended for two weeks starting on May 10, after six passengers on a flight this month tested positive for COVID-19. The passengers arrived on an April 20 flight operated by the carrier, which is part of airline group Air France-KLM, China's Civil Aviation Administration said in its announcement. Positive tests on arriving passengers lead to automatic flight suspensions under Chinese rules established last year with the easing of international flight curbs. "These are the Chinese rules and we will of course abide by them," an Air France spokesman said, adding that the airline enforced "very strict testing requirements" ahead of departure. Both affected flights will be maintained for cargo only on the outbound Paris-Shanghai journey and still carry passengers on the return leg in compliance with the rules, he said.<br/>
EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said Friday that she believed that a solution regarding Italy's plan to set up a new airline to replace cash-strapped Alitalia can be found, stressing that the new carrier should be independent from the old one. Talks between the European Commission and the Italian government have foundered amid disagreement over its successor ceding half of Alitalia's slots at Milan Linate airport, the old brand and the loyalty programme. "I continue to believe we can find a workable solution. ITA has to be a real company, there has to be discontinuity otherwise ITA would be liable for Alitalia," Vestager said. "Investments in ITA must have market conformity, so investments by the Italian state would give a return that would satisfy private investors," she said, adding that she was waiting for a new proposal from Rome.<br/>