Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa) is set to expand its sub-Saharan Africa footprint with the recent announcement that it will base its Central African hub out of Kinshasa N'Djili. According to CEO, Tewolde Gebremariam, the establishment of the hub in Kinshasa would "secure transfer traffic amid growing competition from Middle Eastern operators". Turkish Airlines (TK, Istanbul Atatürk) in particular is seen as a threat given their increased activity in the region as well as their purported involvement with the Congolese government in setting up a new national airline. Meanwhile, the airline's planned Southern African hub could hinge on Malawi following a recent announcement there by Minister of Transport and Public Works, Sidik Mia, that a renewed Air Malawi (QM, Blantyre), in which Ethiopian acquired a 49% stake, should be operational "before the end of the month (June)". Ethiopian also has designs on a potential carrier in Lusaka, Zambia, though no official confirmation on the project's current status is known.

Air Contractors (AG, Dublin Int'l) which along with sister carriers, Europe Airpost (5O, Paris CDG) and Safair (FA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo), are part of the ASL Aviation Group, are to take delivery of three B737-400(F)s each with a capacity of 11 pallets. The three ex-Turkish Airlines (TK, Istanbul Atatürk) B737-400 aircraft, msn 25261, 25184 & 25181, are set to undergo conversion into freighters with Florida-based Aeronautical Engineers Inc. (AEI). This order will bring the total number of AEI B737-400SFs in ASL's fleet to eight with six owned and two leased.

Jet Airways (9W, Mumbai Int'l) will lease three of its Airbus A330-200s to Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi Int'l) as a means of trimming its bloated wide-body capacity, company officials have confirmed. Jet has decided to lease out an A330 to Etihad and plans to lease out two more this year. In addition, it will lease out three B777-300(ER)s to Turkish Airlines (TK, Istanbul Atatürk) that are currently on lease to Thai Airways International (TG, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi). Since axing loss-making flights to Johannesburg O.R. Tambo, New York JFK and Milan Malpensa, the Indian airline has had to park six of its Airbus A330s, leading to added costs of USD16.6 million.

Turkish Airlines (TK, Istanbul Atatürk) has finalized a previously-announced firm order for ninety-five aircraft placed with US manufacturer, Boeing (BOE, Chicago O'Hare). 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.

Turkish Airlines (TK, Istanbul Atatürk) has been approached by the Democratic Republic of the Congo's government over the possible setting up of a joint-partnership national airline to replace the now bankrupt LAC - Lignes Aériennes Congolaises (4V, Kinshasa N'Djili). According to Congo's Radio Okapi, a team of Congolese functionaries are due in Istanbul before the end of the month to discuss a possible deal with the Turks, who have yet to confirm their interest in the venture. Kinshasa had previously set June as the planned date for the launch of the renewed national airline. Earlier this year, Congolese Minister for Transport, Justin Kalumba, said the airline's launch, coupled with a renewed infrastructural upgrade programme, would help improve the overall efficiency and safety of Congo's skies.