ITA Airways on Tuesday posted a 2022 loss of around E486m due to lingering effects of the pandemic and rising fuel costs, despite strong revenues of E1.58b. The Italian state-owned carrier, which officially replaced money-losing Alitalia in 2021, said in a statement the results were “consistent with the company’s ‘start-up’ phase” in a market that remained weak in the first few months of the year due to the pandemic. Higher fuel costs due to the Ukraine conflict and a negative forex dynamic also weighed on last year’s performance, it added. ITA reported revenue of E90m in 2021. Lufthansa is negotiating with the Italian government to acquire 40% of the airline, potentially followed by the remaining stake later. ITA forecast significant revenue growth and improvement in operating results this year, as its expanding fleet flies to more destinations. <br/>
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China Southern Airlines, the country’s largest airline by fleet size, expects to take delivery of more than 200 Boeing and Airbus single-aisle jets over three years. The Guangzhou-based carrier’s aircraft delivery and disposal plan released Monday revealed an addition of 103 Boeing 737 aircraft over the period. The report also showed that 111 Airbus A320 series jets will be added, including 46 in 2025 alone. The Airbus deliveries suggest a sharp increase over the figure released in the 2021 report. Chinese carriers have begun flying the 737 Max again after the country became one of the last to resume commercial operation of the model following the global grounding in the wake of two fatal crashes about four years ago. However, deliveries of new jets have not yet occurred, making the China Southern plan contingent on US-Chinese ties improving. Part of the deliveries stem from a mega purchase announced in July 2022 by China’s largest state-carriers for almost 300 jets worth $37b. The eventual order grew to almost 340 Airbus A320neo family jets months later. By the end of 2025, the carrier expects to operate 431 Airbus A320-series and 451 Boeing 737-series jets, narrowing the lead the US manufacturing giant had over its European rival in supplying narrowbody aircraft to China Southern.<br/>
On March 26, Vietnam Airlines resumed its direct flight service between Danang and Tokyo's Narita Airport, with a flight carrying 180 tourists from Japan to the central city. The two-year suspension of this flight due to Covid-19 has now ended, which is expected to lead to a full recovery of tourism in the city and growth from the Japanese tourism market. In celebration of the return of Japanese tourists to Danang, VNA presented three lucky Japanese tourists with return tickets on the flight. VNA will operate four flights per week from March 26 to June 30 and increase the number to seven flights per week from July 1 to boost investment, trade, and tourism between Japan and central Vietnam. The resumption of this flight is part of the 2023-27 promotion and cooperation agreement signed by VNA and the central city. Since the city opened its doors to tourism in March last year, VNA has operated seven out of eight domestic and three international routes connecting Danang and global destinations. Nguyen Xuan Binh, Vice Director of the city's tourism department, stated that Japan is a key market for the city's tourism. Since last March, 27,000 Japanese tourists have visited the city.<br/>