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Delta Air Lines president Glen Hauenstein, speaking on the airline's 4Q2025 earnings call, stated (13-Jan-2026) revenue has "definitely accelerated", adding: "We're very excited about it, and it's across all entities, it's across all geographies". Mr Hauenstein said: "The booking curve really hasn't moved out that far", adding: "It's just kind of returned to a more normal level".

Air India and Saudia signed (14-Jan-2026) a codeshare agreement, with codeshare services to commence in Feb-2026. Air India passengers will have access to connections via Jeddah and Riyadh to Dammam, Abha, Gassim, Gizan, Madinah and Taif. Saudia passengers will be able to connect to services from Mumbai and Delhi to Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Kochi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Lucknow, Jaipur "and more than 15 other destinations as interline". Air India MD and CEO Campbell Wilson stated: "Saudi Arabia is amongst our most important markets in the Middle East, with the country fast transforming into a major international gateway to the region", adding: "We are happy to be partnering with Saudia to provide greater access to the large Indian diaspora spread across Saudi Arabia as well as to open up the Kingdom's rapidly evolving and diverse tourism offerings and remarkable destinations to holidaymakers from India". [more - original PR]

flynas announced (14-Jan-2026) plans to establish Abha Airport as a base from 29-Mar-2026. Abha will be the LCC's fifth base in Saudi Arabia, following Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah. flynas plans to commence services connecting Abha to Dubai, Cairo, Istanbul, Addis Ababa, Kuwait and Trabzon in 2026, expanding its network at the airport to 11 destinations, including existing domestic services to Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah and Tabuk. flynas CEO and MD Bander Almohanna stated: "The launch of our new operations base in Abha represents a strategic investment designed to build an integrated national operating network". [more - original PR]

Lufthansa Group announced (13-Jan-2026) plans to install Starlink inflight connectivity across its entire fleet of approximately 850 aircraft. Starlink connectivity is expected to be available "as early as" 2H2026. Installation is expected to commence in 2H2026 and be completed by 2029, comprising newly delivered aircraft and retrofit installation on existing aircraft. Lufthansa stated: "The new internet service will be free of charge for all status customers and Travel ID users - across all travel classes". Lufthansa Group also confirmed it will be "the largest airline group in Europe to upgrade its fleet with state-of-the-art broadband internet - no other airline will equip more aircraft with Starlink technology". [more - original PR]

CAPA - Centre for Aviation, in a report entitled 'Viva-Volaris merger puts Mexico's LCC-driven aviation model at a crossroads', stated (13-Jan-2026) Viva and Volaris' proposed merger marks a potentially transformative moment for Mexico's aviation market, which has been shaped decisively by low cost carriers over the past two decades. The two airlines have played a central role in expanding access to air travel, helping grow Mexico's passenger numbers from fewer than 50 million in 2009 to nearly 120 million in 2024. Their tie up aims to create scale in an increasingly constrained global aviation environment, with both carriers arguing that a combined fleet of more than 250 A320 Family aircraft would materially reduce aircraft ownership costs, which is the largest expense category for airlines in the region. [more - CAPA Analysis]

European Parliament's Transport and Tourism Committee voted (13-Jan-2026) to update EU air passenger rights rules, in force since 2004, to ensure that passengers are sufficiently protected against travel disruption such as denied boarding and delayed or cancelled flights. The vote is the draft Parliament response to the European Council's Jun-2025 position on air passenger rights. European members of parliament consider that air passengers should maintain the following rights: