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By: Kimberley Kao
Summary:
Boeing secured agreements to sell nearly 100 aircraft to Vietnamese airlines during a high-profile U.S. visit by Vietnamese Communist Party leader To Lam, in a package valued at over $30 billion. The landmark deals include a $22.5 billion order for up to 40 787-9 Dreamliner wide-body jets from newly established Sun PhuQuoc Airways — the largest ever wide-body aircraft order by a Vietnamese carrier. Flag carrier Vietnam Airlines also signed an order for 50 Boeing 737 MAX jets valued at approximately $8 billion, with plans to invest an additional $12 billion in wide-body aircraft. Budget carrier VietJet separately secured financing for six Boeing 737-8 aircraft. The deals are tied to a broader U.S.-Vietnam trade framework aimed at reducing tariffs, with Vietnam purchasing Boeing aircraft as part of the pact. The agreements signal strengthening economic ties between the two nations as trade negotiations continue.
One-Sentence Summary: Boeing scored over $30 billion in jet orders from Vietnamese airlines, cementing a major trade win tied to deepening U.S.-Vietnam economic relations.
Attribution: For more information, please refer to the Wall Street Journal
By: Cristina Gallardo
Summary:
Air France-KLM reported a strong turnaround in its fourth quarter of 2025, posting a net profit of €585 million — a sharp reversal from a €21 million net loss in the same period a year earlier. The Franco-Dutch airline group saw revenue grow 3.9% to €8.19 billion, driven by a 4.8% increase in passenger numbers to 24.6 million. A key driver of profitability was a 1.1% reduction in unit costs, aided by improved productivity and fuel efficiency. Operating profit reached €393 million, beating the company's own guidance range. Looking ahead to 2026, Air France-KLM expects unit costs to rise by no more than 2% while capacity grows between 3% and 5%.
One-Sentence Summary: Air France-KLM swung from a loss to a €585 million profit in Q4 2025, helped by falling costs and nearly 5% more passengers flying with the group.
Attribution: For more information, please refer to the Wall Street Journal
Boeing is planning a new single-aisle airplane that would succeed the 737 MAX, according to people familiar with the matter, a long-term bid to recover business lost to rival Airbus during its series of safety and quality problems.
Earlier this year, Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg met with officials from Rolls-Royce Holdings RR -0.77%decrease; red down pointing triangle in the U.K., two of the people said, where they discussed a new engine for the aircraft. Ortberg appointed a new senior product chief in Boeing’s commercial plane business, whose prior role was developing a new type of aircraft.
Boeing has also been designing the flight deck of a new narrow-body aircraft, according to a person familiar with the plans.
This new aircraft is in early-stage development and plans are still taking shape, some of the people said.
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The Federal Aviation Administration will let Boeing increase production of its 737 Max to 42 planes a month from 38, boosting the limit put in place after a fuselage panel blew off a jet midair early last year.
The regulator’s safety inspectors conducted extensive reviews of Boeing’s production lines to ensure the jet maker’s requested production rate increase will be done safely, an FAA spokesperson said Friday.
“Our direct oversight of Boeing’s production processes, implementation of its Safety Management System, and whistleblower protections has not changed,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The FAA put the production limit in place weeks after a near-catastrophe on an Alaska Airlines flight in January 2024, in which a door plug ripped away from the plane shortly after takeoff and left a gaping hole in the side of the aircraft.
The agency blamed Boeing for emphasizing production over quality. Former FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said at the time that Boeing would not be allowed to expand production until quality control issues uncovered during the episode were resolved.
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the FAA was expected to allow Boeing to boost 737 MAX production, among other concessions that could help the company deliver more newly produced aircraft to customers.
Boeing shares ticked up 1.3% to $215.75 after hours.
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Boeing secured orders for up to 75 787 Dreamliners and up to 150 737 MAX aircraft from Turkish Airlines.
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Boeing BA -0.59%decrease; red down pointing triangle secured sizable aircraft orders from Turkish Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle, a boost for the jet maker as it seeks to revamp its business.
The group said Turkish Airlines, formally known as Turk Hava Yollari, placed an order for up to 75 787 Dreamliners, its largest ever purchase of Boeing wide-body aircraft. The announcement comes after President Trump met Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Washington.
The deal includes 35 787-9 models, 15 of the larger 787-10 model and options for 25 787 Dreamliners. Boeing said Turkish Airlines also planned to buy up to 150 737 MAX aircraft in what would be its largest Boeing single-aisle order.
Meanwhile, Norwegian placed an order for 30 737-8 aircraft as it seeks to expand its services across Europe. In 2022, the low-cost carrier agreed to purchase 50 737s and has now exercised the option to order additional aircraft.
The companies didn’t disclose financial terms, but buyers typically receive steep discounts for big aircraft orders.
Boeing is seeking to regain its footing since the Alaska Airlines door plug blowout last year that raised pressure from airlines and regulators to ensure safety and quality in its production processes.
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Air Canada’s third-quarter revenue dropped 5%, with profit falling to C$264 million, following a three-day flight attendant strike in August.
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Air Canada AC 1.18%increase; green up pointing triangle is riding a rebound in premium and international travel to move past the fallout from its recent labor disruption that impacted third-quarter results.
Executives at the Canadian flagship airline said Wednesday on an earnings call that the return in demand is expected to carry through the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, particularly to transatlantic destinations, while winter bookings for Latin America are tracking ahead of last year. The gains are being driven by network expansion and vacation package offerings.
“Booking patterns rebounded soon after the disruption ended, underscoring brand strength and consistency in customer behavior,” Chief Commercial Officer Mark Galardo said.
Roughly 10,000 flight attendants walked off the job in August seeking better wages and compensation. The disruption lasted three days, despite calls from Canada’s Industrial Relations Board to return to work, forcing the carrier to ground all flights and temporarily withdraw its financial targets.
On Tuesday, after the markets closed, Air Canada disclosed the financial impact to results, with a 5% drop in revenue, while profit fell to C$264 million, or the equivalent of $186.5 million.
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Airlines and engine makers are deploying new measures to curb instances of toxic fumes leaking into cockpits and cabins as momentum builds toward fixing a chronic problem in the aviation industry.
The efforts follow a Wall Street Journal report in September that leaks of oil and other aircraft fluids into jet engines have surged in recent years, causing toxins to flood the cockpit and cabin via the so-called bleed air supply. In some cases, fumes have led to sickened passengers and in-flight emergencies, and caused long-term brain injuries and other illnesses that have permanently grounded crew.
In late September, Germany’s Lufthansa signed a preliminary deal for a new oil that is billed as safer than existing lubricants, according to a spokesman.
Other carriers, including Delta, Air France-KLM and Britain’s EasyJet have been pressing engine makers to approve the less-toxic lubricant or otherwise expressed interest in using it, according to documents and representatives for the companies.
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Federal investigators probing the crash of a United Parcel Service cargo jet that killed 14 people in Louisville, Ky., earlier this month found signs of metal fatigue and stress in hardware that connected an engine to the plane, according to a preliminary accident report published Thursday.
Investigators “found evidence of fatigue cracks in addition to areas of overstress failure” in a part of the engine mount that linked the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter’s left engine to the wing, the National Transportation Safety Board report said. Images taken from video footage of the plane’s takeoff showed the General Electric engine aflame after it detached, shot above the fuselage and hit the ground.
The jet continued to climb and cleared a fence before its left main landing gear hit the roof of a UPS warehouse beyond the runway at Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport. The plane then crashed in an industrial area beyond the warehouse that included a petroleum recycling facility, the report said.
Collage of 6 photos showing an engine detaching from the left wing of a UPS plane during takeoff, resulting in an explosion.
This sequence of framegrabs shows an engine detaching from the UPS plane's left wing upon takeoff at Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport on Nov. 4. UPS/NTSB/AP
UPS had last inspected the engine mount in question in 2021. Certain related parts would have been due for inspection after more than 28,000 flights, but the airplane had flown about 21,000 flights at the time of the crash.
The UPS plane was fully loaded with fuel for its scheduled flight to Honolulu. The ensuing crash killed three crew members and 11 people on the ground.
UPS said it would support the NTSB’s investigation through its conclusion. Both it and FedEx have grounded their MD-11 fleets.
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