Qingdao Airlines (Qingdao Liuting International (TAO)) has received approval from the CAAC Southeast Regional Administration to proceed with its planned creation, with the CAAC now soliciting submissions. The carrier is backed up a capital base of USD161million (CNY1billion) of which 55% is invested by Nanshan Group with CNY550million, 25% by QMTD with CNY250million and 20% by Shandong Airlines (SC, Jinan Yaoqiang International (TNA)) who will also provide aircraft and personnel. Fleet plans include either Boeing (BOE, Chicago O'Hare International (ORD)) 737s or Airbus Industrie (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac (TLS)) A320s to be used on a domestic network.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL, Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS)) has elaborated on previously announced plans to acquire an additional B777-300(ER). According to the Dutch airline, the aircraft is part of a delivery of two 777-300(ER)s due in spring 2015: one direct from Boeing (BOE, Chicago O'Hare International (ORD)) due in April 2015 and the other on lon- term lease from Los Angeles-based aircraft lease specialists, Air Lease Corporation, due in March 2015. Further to that, KLM plans to extend leases for three B737-800s and a B777-200(ER) currently operating in its fleet.

Boeing (BOE, Chicago O'Hare International (ORD)) has unveiled Southwest Airlines (WN, Dallas Love Field (DAL)) as the launch customer for its 737 MAX 7, the third member of the 737 MAX family, after Southwest converted 30 existing orders for Next-Generation 737s into orders for the 737 MAX 7. Southwest also exercised options to add five more B737-800s to its fleet (and converted five outstanding B737-700 orders to -800s) which, together with the 737 MAX 7s, are part of Southwest’s ongoing effort to improve fuel efficiency and overall profitability. In addition, the Dallas-based LCC says it will buy ten used B737-700s from Canada's WestJet (WS, Calgary International (YYC)) over the next two years as a means of tiding itself over until the delivery of its first 737 MAX 7, due in 2019.

Boeing (BOE, Chicago O'Hare International (ORD)) has resumed deliveries of its B787-8s following the handing over of a Dreamliner, JA818A (msn 42243), to ANA - All Nippon Airways (NH, Tokyo Haneda (HND)) on Tuesday, May 14. The occasion marks the ending of a difficult four-month period for the US manufacturer in which it was unable to provide new planes to customers because of safety concerns over the battery system, which have since been resolved. ANA will likely deploy JA818A, its eighteenth 787, into service when it reactivates the rest of its 787 fleet on June 1.

Turkish Airlines (TK, Istanbul Atatürk/Yesilköy International (IST)) has finalized a previously-announced firm order for ninety-five aircraft placed with US manufacturer, Boeing (BOE, Chicago O'Hare International (ORD)). The deal, valued at USD6.9billion, consists of forty Boeing 737 MAX-8s, ten Boeing 737 MAX-9s and twenty B737-800s, with options for an additional twenty-five Boeing 737 MAX-8s. Delivery of the aircraft is due to be phased over five years starting in 2016 and ending in 2021. The order is Turkish's largest ever placed with Boeing.