GoAir (G8, Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International (BOM)) has allegedly caught the eye of Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International (FRA)), Emirates (EK, Dubai International (DXB)) and Qatar Airways (QR, Doha International (DOH)) as stakes in Indian airlines are fast becoming a hot commodity among international carriers. According to India’s Economic Times, the Mumbai-based airline "is in talks with German carrier Lufthansa and Dubai-based Emirates and Qatar Airways, among others." Go Air had appointed Wall Street investment firm, JP Morgan, to find it fresh investment capital following a change in foreign direct investment (FDI) laws that now permit foreign carriers to hold up to 49 percent equity in Indian airlines. The announcement comes shortly after Qatar Airways boss, Akbar Al Baker, talked about a codeshare deal with IndiGo Airlines (6E, Delhi Indira Gandhi International (DEL)) but said that his airline "had not the money to go around buying shares" in airlines. The revised investment laws coupled with a more flexible Bilateral air services agreement between the UAE and India, have given the capital-rich Emirati carriers fresh impetus to establish a firm foothold in the subcontinent through share-acquisitions with Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International (AUH)) having recently bought a 24% stake in Jet Airways (9W, Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International (BOM)).

Austrian Airlines (OS, Vienna International (VIE)) is to lease an additional B777-200, it's fifth, for use in expanding it's international network after the Supervisory Board of Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International (FRA)) approved the move. Valued at EUR33million, the aircraft is due to begin flights in Summer next year on an 8-year contract. While no specific markets or destinations have been identified, Austrian Airlines Chief Executive Officer Jaan Albrecht was quoted as saying “the long-haul market has growth potential, particularly destinations in Asia and North America. In this way we will secure our long-term competitiveness at the Vienna flight hub.”

Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International (FRA)) and SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK, Copenhagen Kastrup (CPH)) have agreed to discontinue their joint venture on traffic between Germany and Scandinavia due to changing market conditions, ending a near 20 year long partnership. In a communique, SAS stated that the agreement, which started in 1995, was "no longer compatible with their commercial interests as Lufthansa has transferred its European traffic outside of Frankfurt International (FRA) and Munich Franz Josef Strauss International (MUC) to its subsidiary, germanwings (4U, Cologne/Bonn Konrad Adenauer (CGN))." As Star Alliance members, however, the companies will still continue to offer code shares on each other's flights.

Emirates (EK, Dubai International (DXB)) has asked aircraft manufacturer, Boeing (BOE, Chicago O'Hare International (ORD)), for more specifications regarding its proposed B777X variant before placing an order. Currently, Emirates operates 126 B777s (both passenger and cargo) but according to airline President, Tim Clark, should details like "layouts, seating, galleys, aircraft weight and fuel burn" all prove favourable, the Gulf carrier would consider an order for as many as 275 of the advanced type. While currently in talks with Boeing, Emirates doesn’t expect to conclude any deal before June's Paris Air Show. Other carriers whose interest in the 777X has been piqued include Philippine Airlines (PR, Manila Ninoy Aquino International (MNL)), Qatar Airways (QR, Doha International (DOH)), EVA Air (BR, Taipei Taoyuan International (TPE)), British Airways (BA, London Heathrow (LHR)) and Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International (FRA)).

Afriqiyah Airways (8U, Tripoli International (TIP)) and sister carrier Libyan Airlines (LN, Tripoli International (TIP)) have both been forced to wait a little longer before they are removed from the EU's so called Black List and are allowed to return to using their own metal on flights to Europe. Afriqiyah, who have been using a wet-leased Air Moldova (9U, Chisinau International (KIV)) A320 (MSN 741 / ER-AXP) in order to operate flights to Europe until now, may have to wait longer after a recent incident in which a charter flight to Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) was forced to return to Libya in mid-flight via Italy owing to a "paperwork mix up" revealed glaring oversights in the airline's planning procedures. Originally scheduled to resume its own flights in January, Libyan Airlines has been facing some resistance from some quarters of its flight crew over a decision by the company to send pilots to Germany to be retrained and recertified by Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International (FRA)).