Airline News in Brief 23 April 2026

Air New Zealand’s refreshed loyalty programme Koru officially takes off: Air New Zealand is launching a refreshed loyalty programme called Koru, marking a significant shift in how the airline recognises its customers and the role travel plays in their lives. Customers will carry across their existing Airpoints and Status Points, with their equivalent Koru tier mapped into the new Koru programme. Customers who currently hold Airpoints Gold status will transition to Koru Gold. Koru Gold benefits include milestone Status Rewards (including Airpoints that can be used towards future travel or in the Airpoints Store) as well as two Recognition Upgrades each membership year. These upgrades allow customers to move up one cabin class when they achieve or retain Koru Gold and are valid for that membership year. Status Retain, launching later this month, will offer additional support for customers with Koru Gold, Koru Platinum or Koru Black status who are close to the threshold, helping them maintain their status if they fall just short. At the top end, the introduction of Koru Black recognises the airline’s most frequent travellers in a more personal way. Members at this level will be able to share benefits with friends or family through Koru Circle, alongside additional upgrades and rewards — acknowledging that frequent travel is often supported by those around them. Across all tiers, Koru has been simplified to make it easier for customers to track their progress and understand the benefits they are earning. Air Astana adds transit traffic, expands international network: Air Astana Group continues to strengthen its position as a transit hub in Central Asia, having a 65% increase in international transit passenger traffic traveling via Kazakhstan in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year. Since the beginning of 2026, total transit traffic has exceeded 137,000 passengers, while international transit traffic has surpassed 48,000 passengers. The growth in transit flows has been driven by the development of the route network and re-allocation of capacity from the Middle East towards Seoul, Bangkok, Phuket, Phu Quoc, Male, Istanbul, Delhi, Tashkent and Tbilisi. In 2026, the airline launched direct flights from Almaty to Shanghai, plans to introduce new routes from Astana to Guangzhou (China), Larnaca (Cyprus) and Dalaman (Turkey), and is also increasing frequencies on existing routes, including Seoul and a number of other international destinations. Air Astana Group is the largest airline group in Central Asia and the Caucasus regions by revenue and fleet size. The Group operates a fleet of 63 aircraft split between Air Astana, its full-service airline that operated its inaugural flight in 2002, and FlyArystan, its low-cost airline established in 2019. The Group provides scheduled, point-to-point and transit, short- haul and long-haul air travel and cargo on domestic, regional and international routes across Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Far East, the Gulf, India and Europe. EPCOR and Air Canada sign fleet support for APS5000: EPCOR B.V., the Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M) center of excellence for the repair of Auxiliary Power Units (APUs), Components, asset management services and predictive maintenance is pleased to announce the signing of a 15-year extension contract for the support of Air Canada’s APS5000 Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) fleet. This agreement marks a significant milestone, extending a successful partnership that began in 2014 and will now span a total of 25 years. Air Canada is one of EPCOR’s leading customers for the APS5000 APU platform, a critical component of its state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet. This renewal underscores EPCOR’s continued commitment to supporting Air Canada’s wide-body fleet growth and ongoing fleet modernisation program. Josh Vanderveen, Vice President, Maintenance at Air Canada, commented: “Air Canada is pleased to extend its long-standing partnership with EPCOR, building on more than a decade of collaboration. This new 15-year agreement reinforces our commitment to reliability and operational excellence across our Boeing 787 fleet, ensuring we continue to deliver world-class service to our customers.” Heidi Haveman, Managing Director at EPCOR, added: “This contract extension is a commitment to the trust and collaboration between EPCOR, Air Canada, and AFI KLM E&M. We are honored to support Air Canada’s fleet as they continue to set industry standards for innovation and service.” JetBlue signs for Skywise Fleet Performance+ solution: Skywise, Airbus’ recently launched digital services company, announced at MRO Americas that it has signed an agreement with JetBlue to deploy its advanced Skywise Fleet Performance+ (S.FP+) solution. The contract will extend the digital solution capabilities across JetBlue’s A320 Family aircraft and its growing A220 fleet, supporting improved aircraft availability and maintenance planning. As one of Airbus’ most advanced digital services, S.FP+ enables airlines to integrate real-time monitoring, accelerated troubleshooting, and enhanced reliability assessments. By leveraging aircraft data and predictive analytics, this platform optimises maintenance scheduling to reduce operational disruptions and ensure consistent, data-driven fleet performance. “By implementing state-of-the-art technology like Skywise Fleet Performance+, JetBlue is giving our Technical Operations team more advanced tools to monitor aircraft condition and health, respond more quickly, and plan maintenance more effectively,” said David Marcontell, Vice President Technical Operations at JetBlue. “That helps us improve fleet dependability, strengthen reliability and operate with an important edge in efficiency and execution.” The JetBlue agreement expands Skywise’s presence in North America and reflects growing adoption of digital services across the region. It also marks one of the first customer agreements announced since the launch of Skywise earlier this month, echoing Airbus’ ambition to seamlessly continue supporting airline operators with integrated and scalable solutions. Bangkok joins flydubai’s network with the launch of daily flights: Flydubai announced the launch of flights to Don Mueang International Airport (DMK) in Bangkok from 01 July 2026, marking the airline’s second destination in Thailand alongside Krabi. The carrier will operate a daily service from Terminal 3 at Dubai International (DXB), further strengthening connectivity between Dubai and Southeast Asia. The new route will be operated as a codeshare with Emirates, offering passengers seamless connections through Dubai’s aviation hub to a wide network of destinations. In addition to its growing presence in Thailand, flydubai continues to expand its footprint in Southeast Asia, serving popular destinations such as Langkawi and Penang in Malaysia. Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, said: “we are pleased to expand our network in Thailand with the launch of flights to Bangkok, offering customers access to another gateway into the Thai capital. This addition reflects our continued commitment to offering our passengers more travel options. As travel demand continues to recover, we remain confident in the resilience of the tourism sector. The new service allows us to deploy capacity where it is needed, while strengthening travel and trade flows between the UAE and key markets.” Akasa Air welcomes 38th aircraft: Akasa Air received delivery of its 38th aircraft, marking its seventh induction in the first four months of CY 2026. This sustained pace of fleet additions will enable the airline to further deepen its network while reinforcing its role as a key contributor to India’s aviation growth story. The aircraft is purpose-built to Akasa’s specifications and equipped with Safran Z200 seats, a next-generation seating solution designed to elevate the in-flight experience. The seats feature a generous four-inch recline, an ergonomically contoured backrest, and enhanced cushioning for superior sitting comfort, alongside thoughtfully positioned additional conveniences such as USB-C and USB-A ports to support the needs of today’s hyper-connected travellers. Akasa Air has placed a firm order for 226 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, with a robust pipeline of 188 additional aircraft scheduled for delivery over the next six years, reflecting its commitment to supporting India’s rapidly growing demand for travel. Magma Aviation partners with Air Atlanta: Magma Aviation has partnered with Air Atlanta to further strengthen its commitment to reducing fuel consumption and improving environmental performance across its operations. Air Atlanta leverages an eco-flying platform called SkyBreathe to closely monitor fuel performance and identify fuel-saving opportunities.  A key feature of the platform is its ability to analyse the organisation’s operational data and highlight opportunities for optimisation, while supporting the internal team in implementing practical, data-driven improvements within the airline. This data has significantly helped Magma Aviation identify areas of its operations where it can further optimise performance and lessen its environmental impact. In 2025, Magma Aviation achieved a remarkable milestone by reducing fuel consumption by over 250,000 kg across its operations, translating into an estimated reduction of approximately 800,000 kg of CO2 emissions. Magma Aviation is an air cargo specialist, providing efficient, reliable, and customized freight solutions to meet global business needs. It commercially markets dedicated wide-body and narrow-body freighters, contracted on an exclusive basis from third-party airlines – all supported by a team focused on performance, precision, and customer care. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Sally Passey at [email protected]