FLEET / ROUTES - AirBorneo (Malaysia) will wet lease two B737-800 aircraft from Batik Air Malaysia for 18 months

 Plans for the airline's expansion into jet operations progressed in 2026, with services expected to commence in the third quarter of the year using three Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The initial network was planned to include routes from Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Kota Kinabalu and Jakarta.

Flyingphotos AI

FLEET / ROUTES - AnimaWings took delivery of its eighth Airbus aircraft, a leased A220-300 with serial 55443, and announced the launch of five new scheduled routes from Bucharest, Timișoara, and Cluj-Napoca.

Ton Jochems - YR-FUN / A220-300 / Anima Wings - NCE

FLEET - Philippine Airlines is expected to firm agreements for about 10 B787s and 10 A350s, with the deals expected to be announced at Farnborough.

Aviator / PAL
 

ROUTES - C909 starts to operate in second high plateau route

With the smooth landing of C909 themed aircraft "Swan" of Chengdu Airlines at Hejing Bayinbuluke Airport with an elevation of 2,506.85 meters on June 23rd, 2026, the Urumqi=Hejing=Kashgar route was officially opened. This is the second high plateau route operated by C909 aircraft after the Kashgar=Taxkorgan route, marking another verification of the adaptability of China-made commercial aircraft in complex operating environments and injecting strong aerial momentum into the peak tourist season of the Bayanbulak grassland in Xinjiang.

On the same day, Hejing Bayinbuluke Airport held an opening ceremony, welcoming the C909 aircraft with the highest civil aviation honor, a water salute. The airport has ushered in a civil aviation scheduled passenger transport route for the first time since its opening in August 2024. From the early temporary take-offs and landings of the King Air 350 aircraft to the current scheduled flights operated by C909 aircraft, aircraft model iteration and route densification have driven the high plateau airport of Hejing Bayinbuluke to achieve a leapfrog development from "being built" and "being put into operation" to "flying well". 

 

Bayanbulak is a national-level eco-tourism area, featuring world-class natural landscapes such as the "Nine Bends and Eighteen Turns". Previously, people traveling to Bayanbulak from Urumqi or Kashgar mainly depend on long-distance regular passenger coaches, trains or self-driving, or transfer at Korla Airport, which is time-consuming. After the Urumqi=Hejing=Kashgar route was opened, the traveling time by air from the two places to Bayanbulak has been shortened to about one hour, which significantly enhances the convenience of travel. 

Hejing Bayinbuluke Airport is the second high plateau airport in Xinjiang (civil aviation standard: elevation ≥ 2,438 meters). It has a unique geographical environment and complex meteorological conditions, and is directly confronted with multiple challenges such as high elevation, barometric depression and air blast. The opening of this route not only fills the gap of civil aviation routes at the airport, but also becomes a key fulcrum for the development of tourism resources in Hejing County. This route significantly shortens the temporal and spatial distance with the outside world, improves the "three-dimensional transportation" system of Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, accelerates the deep integration of transportation and cultural tourism industry, and has profound significance for promoting the upgrading of the tourism industry, promoting rural revitalization, and enhancing national unity. 

 

AIRPORT - Sabiha Gökçen International Airport

IILGAZ DEGER
 

FLEET - Air New Zealand marks Dreamliner milestone as final aircraft returns from storage

Air New Zealand has welcomed back its final Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner from long-term storage, marking a major milestone in the airline's response to one of the most significant global supply chain challenges facing aviation in recent years.

For the first time since the global Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine shortage impacted aircraft availability, Air New Zealand now has no widebody aircraft in storage. At the peak of the engine shortage, the airline had five of its fourteen Boeing 787-9 aircraft grounded.

Air New Zealand GM Fleet Baden Smith says the milestone is one step closer to having the full Dreamliner fleet operational.

"With the completion of our retrofit programme and the delivery of our two new Boeing 787-9 aircraft by the end of this year, we'll see targeted growth in widebody capacity over the next two years.

"This additional capacity opens up opportunities across our network, including our recently announced services between Christchurch and Singapore, Tokyo and Perth.

"As the country's national airline our focus isn't just growth; it's building a resilient, future-fit airline that keeps New Zealand connected to the world. Every aircraft we return to the fleet strengthens our ability to connect people, support trade and grow tourism."

For Air New Zealand Fleet Project Lead Robert Cox, the milestone reflects the success of a complex and coordinated programme of work.

"The challenge wasn't just finding somewhere to store the aircraft. We needed to keep them maintained, protect the condition of the fleet and keep the engine overhaul programme moving so we could get these aircraft back into service for our customers as soon as possible.

"Long-term aircraft parking is limited in Auckland and New Zealand's climate isn't ideal for extended aircraft storage, so Alice Springs became the preferred location for the grounded Dreamliners."

Air New Zealand worked with partners to carry out Trent 1000 engine changes in Alice Springs, allowing engines to be removed and sent for overhaul while the aircraft remained safely in storage.

"Carrying out engine changes in Alice Springs was a significant logistical challenge, but it helped us get engines into the shop at least six months earlier than if they had remained on the aircraft," says Cox.

Air New Zealand's narrowbody fleet is also nearly back in full service, with just two Airbus A320neo aircraft currently grounded due to challenges with the Pratt & Whitney engines, down from six at the peak of the disruption.

Editors Notes

All fourteen 787-9 Dreamliners will have been retrofitted with the airline's new cabin experience by the end of 2026

The airline's two new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners are scheduled to be delivered from Boeing by the end of this year

Air New Zealand / Photo: Dunacan Stewart - LAX

FLEET - Miracle Air Expands Fleet with Third Cessna Grand Caravan

Miracle Air, Tanzania’s premium charter airline, has welcomed a brand-new Cessna Grand
Caravan EX into its fleet, boosting capacity to meet rising demand in the country’s tourism
sector.

Miracle Air

 

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT - JY-AGL was an Airbus A310-304 aircraft (serial number 661) that primarily flew for Royal Jordanian

Flyingphotos - LHR
 

VINTAGE Special Colours - Austrian Airlines / A321-200 / OE-LBB - Famous Austrians 'Millenium' colours

Flyingphotos - Faro, Portugal
 

AIRPORT - EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg

Paul Bannwarth

SPECIAL LIVERY - Hong Kong Airlines × Ocean Park Panda Friends Livery Aircraft Receives Comprehensive Upgrade Themed Cabin Interiors and Limited-Edition Collectibles Make Maiden Flight to Chengdu as Giant Pandas Soar Skyward as Tourism Ambassadors

Since its debut in mid-March this year, the Panda Friends livery aircraft, jointly created by Hong Kong Airlines and Ocean Park, has been warmly embraced by passengers worldwide as Hong Kong’s conservation ambassador in the sky, carrying the city’s compelling stories and conservation ethos to the world and showcasing the appeal of Hong Kong tourism to global audiences. To further elevate the passenger experience, Hong Kong Airlines today unveiled a brand-new suite of Panda Friends-themed cabin interiors and bespoke collectibles, debuting on board the carrier's flight to Chengdu — the hometown of the giant panda — where the six Hong Kong giant pandas will accompany travellers across the skies in an even more vivid and engaging form.

 The fuselage design of the Panda Friends livery aircraft creatively incorporates Ocean Park's beloved IP characters, namely An An, Ke Ke, Ying Ying and Le Le, alongside the Hong Kong-born giant panda twins — elder sister Jia Jia and younger brother De De. In the artwork, the six pandas set off from Ocean Park with their passports and cameras in hand, taking on the role of tourism ambassadors as they journey around the world with passengers on board.

Hong Kong

SPECIAL LIVERY - STARLUX Airlines and Pantone Announce New Standard for Metallic Aircraft Liveries with AIRSORAYAMA Silver and Gold Custom finishes bring Hajime Sorayama’s liquid-metal aesthetic to STARLUX’s A350-1000, redefining the aesthetics of aviation

Two new colors have emerged from the STARLUX AIRSORAYAMA project, with Pantone translating acclaimed Japanese artist Hajime Sorayama’s signature metallic aesthetic into bespoke aviation colors. Developed in a collaboration between STARLUX Airlines and global color authority Pantone, these colors serve as the defining element of the STARLUX AIRSORAYAMA aircraft, a three-year initiative that required solving technical problems never before confronted at this scale.

On the AIRSORAYAMA aircrafts, Sorayama’s iconic metallic “silver” and “gold” aesthetic are translated to precision-engineered shades designed for consistent reproduction. The result, visible at scale on STARLUX’s Airbus A350-1000, is a fluid, liquid-metal effect that shifts in depth and tone depending on viewing angle and lighting conditions, transforming the aircraft fuselage into a striking visual statement.

“This time we aren't just tuning color, we are tuning light.” said Laurie Pressman, Vice President of Pantone Color Institute™. “Through specialized formulation, all visible shimmer particles were removed to achieve an almost liquid smoothness. They embody future luxury—not the ostentation of traditional gold and silver, but a quiet confidence: precise, elegant, and technologically refined. ”

The project united STARLUX, Airbus, and German premium coating specialist Mankiewicz around a fundamental challenge: Sorayama’s signature mirror-like metallic finishes could not be used on the Airbus A350-1000 due to aviation safety, structural, and lightning-protection requirements. A new technical solution needed to be developed.

The solution was a family of high-concentration mica-based pigments capable of producing reflective metallic luster while meeting the rigorous standards of commercial aviation. After extensive testing and validation, the formulation underwent more than 10 iterative adjustments before receiving final approval from Sorayama himself. This process yielded the signature finishes of the AIRSORAYAMA Silver and Gold aircrafts. 

With the formula approved, engineers implemented a precision multi-layer coating process to apply the colors at aircraft scale, balancing visual performance with engineering requirements. It took a team of 16 specialists over 20 days to complete the livery. 

The STARLUX AIRSORAYAMA livery marks a new milestone in commercial aviation—establishing that color science, artistic collaboration, and aerospace engineering can be integrated at the highest level of craft. “STARLUX AIRSORAYAMA | PANTONE - Colors That Capture Light” documentary is available here: https://youtu.be/X9vWlWHSF90 

STARLUX
 

NEW AIRLINE - Mukhtara Air is a developing full-service Indonesian charter and commercial airline based in Tangerang, primarily targeting Hajj and Umrah travel

PK-MKU- A330-343

Photo: Benedictus Nathaniel

Hub Airport: Soekarno–Hatta International Airport.

Fleet: Currently consists of an Airbus A320-200 for domestic feeder routes and an Airbus A330-300 for international long-haul operations.Routes: 

The A330 primarily serves international destinations such as Madinah and Makkah in Saudi Arabia.

SPECIAL LIVERY (Report) - NASA unveils its F-15 and F/A-18 fighter jets with commemorative 4th of July paint scheme.

NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center has unveiled a new special paint scheme for two of its aircraft.

The American space agency's F/A-18D Hornet and F-15D Eagle fighter jets received a red, white, and blue color scheme with several white stars, in reference to the United States flag. According to NASA, the initiative seeks to honor the country's history and highlight values ​​considered fundamental to its trajectory. In a social media post, the agency stated that the new visual identity represents the legacy of determination, service, and unity that define the American nation. has unveiled a new special paint scheme for two of its aircraft.

The American space agency's F/A-18D Hornet and F-15D Eagle fighter jets received a red, white, and blue color scheme with several white stars, in reference to the United States flag. According to NASA, the initiative seeks to honor the country's history and highlight values ​​considered fundamental to its trajectory. In a social media post, the agency stated that the new visual identity represents the legacy of determination, service, and unity that define the American nation.

ROUTES - Syrianair wet leases A320 for European Union return

Syrianair (RB, Damascus) has wet leased an A320-200 from Heston Airlines (HN, Vilnius) to restart services to the European Union after a 14-year gap. LY-MAU (msn 6347) operated the first flight from Amsterdam Schiphol to Damascus, and return, on July 2, 2026. 

The Syrian carrier previously said that it elected to restart the route through ACMI because it has secured the necessary traffic rights, but not the EU Third Country Operator (TCO) authorisation, for which it would have to wait much longer.
Syrian Air

AIRPORT - Palma de Mallorca-Spain

 Ton Jochems - PMI

SPECIAL LIVERY - Juneyao Air / B787-9 / B-226M - Blossoming China

Ton Jochems - BRU
 

AIRPORT - Lisboa-Humberto Delgado-Portugal

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