The Cathay Group has firmly ordered 14 more Airbus aircraft, 11 A330-900 widebodies and three A321neo narrowbodies, by exercising purchase rights with the manufacturer. The order lifts the group’s firm commitment for the A330-900 to 41 aircraft, according to Airbus.

In a press release dated November 11, 2026, Cathay said the A330-900s will support the growth of the regional network of Cathay Pacific (CX) and add passenger and cargo capacity, while the A321neos will strengthen the growth potential of the group’s low-cost airline HK Express (UO) on routes to the Chinese Mainland and other short-haul destinations. Cathay said the orders bring its total aircraft deliveries from 2026 to 120, closer to its plan for 150 new aircraft over the next 10 years if market conditions are favourable. Airbus announced the same order from Toulouse on November 11, 2026.

How the order builds on the 2023 and 2024 deals

The 11 A330-900s come on top of the 30 the group ordered in 2024, and the three A321neos add to the 32 A321neo and A320neo aircraft it ordered in 2023, according to both the Cathay and the Airbus releases. Neither release gives a value or a delivery schedule for the 14 new aircraft.

The 2024 deal shows how Cathay has framed the A330-900. In its stock exchange announcement of August 7, 2024, Cathay Pacific Airways Limited said Cathay Pacific Aircraft Services Limited had agreed with Airbus S.A.S. to buy 30 A330-900s and had secured the right to acquire 30 additional aircraft of the type. That announcement put the aircraft basic price, covering airframe, optional features and engines, at approximately US$11 billion (about HK$85.8 billion), and said Airbus had granted significant price concessions, so the actual consideration was lower. Delivery of those 30 aircraft was expected by the end of 2031.

The same filing said the A330-900s would progressively replace Cathay’s existing fleet of mid-size widebody aircraft and enable future growth. They would mainly serve regional destinations in Asia, with flexibility for longer-haul routes at a later stage, the company said at the time.

Where the new aircraft fit in the fleet

Cathay is already an operator of the A330ceo, as Airbus noted in its release. The AirPro Atlas has seen 42 Cathay Pacific Airbus A330-300s flying since October 13, 2026. In its interim results release of August 5, 2026, the group said its regional A330 aircraft will receive an all-new Aria Studio Business class and a new Economy cabin by the end of 2026.

HK Express already flies the A321neo. The AirPro Atlas has seen 16 HK Express A321neos in the air since October 13, 2026, alongside 10 A321s, six A320neos and two A320s.

The new aircraft join a broader delivery pipeline. Cathay said its deliveries from 2026 include A321neo and A320neo narrowbodies, A330-900 regional widebodies, Boeing 777-9 long-haul widebodies, and A350F and A330 freighters, as part of its fleet renewal and expansion plan. On the cargo side, the interim results release said Cathay Cargo had increased its Airbus A350F freighter order to eight aircraft and signed a lease for an A330P2F converted freighter for Air Hong Kong.

What Cathay and Airbus said

Cathay Group Chief Executive Officer Ronald Lam linked the order to the group’s home hub, Hong Kong, and to its sustainability goals. In the Cathay release, he said the group was “pleased to further strengthen our fleet with new orders for these state-of-the-art, fuel-efficient aircraft.” Lam said the orders bring the group’s total committed investment to over HK$150 billion for 2026 to 2035, and said, “These investments will consolidate and elevate Hong Kong’s status as a leading international aviation hub.”

In the Airbus release, Alex McGowan, Cathay’s Chief Operations and Service Delivery Officer, said the A330 and A320 aircraft families have served the group well, and that the order supports regional growth across Asia-Pacific as well as longer flights. Benoit de Saint-Exupery, Airbus Executive Vice President Sales of the Commercial Aircraft business, described Cathay as “an experienced operator of the A330ceo and the A320 Family” and called the order a strong endorsement of the aircraft’s value. He said the mix gives the airline flexibility on capacity, lower fuel burn and a streamlined Airbus fleet.

The group behind the order, and the aircraft

The order follows what Chair Guy Bradley called “a strong financial performance in the first half of 2026.” Cathay reported an attributable profit of HK$6.2 billion for the first half of 2026, compared with HK$3.7 billion in the first half of 2025, according to its interim results release. The group said the second quarter was harder than the first because of the situation in the Middle East and a sharp rise in jet fuel prices, with jet fuel costs almost doubling from the first quarter to the second. In the same release, Bradley said the group had “committed around HK$150 billion in investments into our fleet, cabin and lounge products” and that it targets 150 new aircraft and a network of 150 destinations over the next 10 years, if market conditions are favourable.

Airbus says the A330neo, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, can fly up to 8,100 nautical miles (15,000 kilometers) non-stop and cuts fuel burn, CO2 emissions and operating cost by 25% compared with previous-generation competitor aircraft. The manufacturer describes the A320 Family as the world’s most popular single-aisle family, with nearly 20,600 orders, and says it delivers at least 20% fuel savings and CO2 reduction compared with previous-generation single-aisle aircraft. The A321neo is the family’s largest member.

Lufthansa (LH) took delivery of its first Airbus A350-1000 in Toulouse, France, on November 10, 2026, and the widebody is also the 700th Airbus aircraft delivered to the Lufthansa Group. The 300-seat jet, fitted with the airline’s Allegris cabin, will be based in Munich, where it becomes the first of ten A350-1000s assigned to the hub.

In a press release dated November 10, 2026, Airbus said the aircraft wears a commemorative livery marking “100 years of Lufthansa” and will fly long-haul routes from Munich to destinations such as Tokyo, Shanghai and Singapore. The handover completes the delivery Lufthansa described on October 15, 2026, when it named Tokyo as the type’s first destination and scheduled the December 3 Munich to Tokyo launch.

The aircraft and its cabin

According to Lufthansa’s October 15 release, the aircraft carries the registration D-AIFA and the name “Deutschland”. The A350-1000 is 73.80 meters long, seven meters longer than the A350-900 that Lufthansa already flies. Lufthansa lists three to four First Class seats (two single suites and one “Suite Plus”), 49 Business Class seats including eight suites, 35 Premium Economy seats and 212 Economy seats.

Heiko Reitz, member of the Lufthansa Airlines Board and Hub Manager Munich, said the new flagship has 40 percent more Business and Premium Economy seats. “The A350-1000 strengthens our premium hub in Munich,” Reitz said.

“The introduction of the new A350-1000 is part of the largest fleet modernization in the history of the Lufthansa Group.”

Reitz made the statement in the October 15 release. The aircraft is powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines and uses lightweight materials, including more than 50 percent composites. Lufthansa said these reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 25 percent compared with previous-generation aircraft. Airbus gives the A350 a range of up to 9,700 nautical miles (18,000 kilometres) non-stop.

The jet is the seventh aircraft in Lufthansa’s 100th-anniversary livery, joining the airline’s centennial anniversary fleet. In a release dated July 14, 2026, Lufthansa said the aircraft was painted at Airbus’s Toulouse plant in blue with a large white crane and the lettering “1926 | 2026”, using 432 liters of blue and 246 liters of white paint. At that point, the release said, an A350-900, an A380, a Boeing 787-9, a Boeing 747-8 and two A320neo aircraft already wore the design.

Munich first, then Tokyo, Shanghai and Singapore

Lufthansa said in October that the aircraft was due in Munich in mid-November and that, after final preparations, its first passenger flight is scheduled for December 3, 2026, from Munich Airport (MUC) to Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND). Shanghai and Singapore are to be added in the following weeks. All of those flights will use the Allegris cabin and alternate between the A350-1000 and the A350-900. The July release said an official naming ceremony will be held at a later date.

The Lufthansa Group has ordered 15 aircraft of the type, and the first ten will fly for Lufthansa from the Munich hub. Munich Airport handled 41,568,000 passengers in 2024 and has two runways, 08L/26R and 08R/26L, each 13,123 feet long, according to its AirPro Atlas record.

How the A350-1000 order and schedule developed

The Lufthansa Group ordered ten A350-1000s in March 2023. When it announced a follow-on order on December 20, 2024, the group said those first deliveries were due to start in April 2026. The first aircraft was handed over on November 10, 2026. Neither the Airbus release nor Lufthansa’s October release gives a reason for the timing.

The December 2024 order raised the group’s firm A350-1000 commitments from 10 to 15, at a list price of about two billion US dollars, with the additional jets to be delivered between 2028 and 2031. In its October 2026 release, Lufthansa said all 15 are to be delivered by 2030. In June 2026, the group said its total A350 orders stood at 75, including the A350-1000.

In December 2024, the group said its new twin-engine long-haul jets are meant to replace four-engine types being phased out: the Boeing 747-400, the Airbus A340-600 and the Airbus A340-300. Those types are still flying. AirPro Atlas data, which counts aircraft seen flying under the Lufthansa (DLH) code since October 11, 2026, lists 11 A340-300s, 4 A340-600s and 8 Boeing 747-400s, alongside 31 A350-900s.

A 700th delivery after 50 years of partnership

In a release dated June 10, 2026, the Lufthansa Group said it and Airbus marked 50 years of partnership at the opening of the ILA Berlin Air Show, a relationship that began in 1976 with the delivery of Lufthansa’s first A300. At that event, which also produced a component services deal for the A220 fleet, Lars Wagner, CEO Commercial Aircraft at Airbus, said:

“Today, we are working together towards the delivery of the 700th aircraft for the Lufthansa Group.”

Wagner called the milestone an example of how the two companies have helped make aviation a key industry for Germany, according to the Lufthansa Group release on the anniversary.

Airbus describes the Lufthansa Group as one of the world’s largest Airbus operators, flying the A220, A320 Family, A330, A340, A350 Family and A380, and notes that the airline was launch operator for the A321, A320neo and A340-200. In December 2024, the group said it had ordered 770 aircraft from Airbus throughout its history and described itself as Airbus’s largest customer worldwide.

Airbus said the A350 Family had 1,628 orders from 70 customers worldwide at the end of October 2026. The next scheduled milestone for D-AIFA is its first passenger service from Munich to Tokyo on December 3, 2026.

Milestone Aviation Group has completed a multi-aircraft transaction with Omni Helicopters International (OHI) covering three new Leonardo AW189 helicopters, two Sikorsky S-92 helicopters in full all-weather search and rescue (SAR) configuration and a five-year lease extension on one AW139. The AW189s will support offshore oil and gas growth in Brazil, and the S-92s will add SAR capacity in South America.

Milestone, an AerCap company, announced the deal in a press release dated November 5, 2026, datelined Dublin. The three AW189s are a purchase and leaseback, with deliveries scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027. The two S-92s are expected in the first quarter of 2027.

What each aircraft will do

Omni currently operates the AW139 in offshore oil and gas work and will extend its lease by five years. Milestone said the S-92s will support SAR growth and consolidation in South America, and described the transaction as a significant investment in the region’s offshore and SAR sectors that also reinforces the future of the S-92 platform.

Pat Sheedy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Milestone, said the company is pleased to strengthen its long-standing partnership with Omni and called the two SAR-configured S-92s a major investment in Brazil’s search and rescue capacity. “Brazil remains a key market for Milestone,” he said, citing the S-92’s reliability, payload and all-weather performance.

Jeremy Akel, Group Chief Executive Officer of OHI, said the deal is another step in Omni’s ability to deliver safe, reliable, mission-critical aviation services across South America. He said the partnership lets Omni invest in the right aircraft and that the additions strengthen its Offshore Energy and Search and Rescue capabilities.

A long-running lessor relationship

The transaction adds to earlier deals between the two companies. In March 2025, at Verticon in Dallas, Milestone announced lease agreements with OHI for seven helicopters: two Airbus H145s, one Airbus H135, one new Airbus H160, one new Airbus H175 and lease extensions on two Sikorsky S-92s. That H160 was Milestone’s first placement in Brazil, where Petrobras was to use it for oil and gas projects.

Milestone, which marked 15 years as a helicopter lessor in 2025, describes itself as the world’s leading helicopter leasing and financing company. It offers operating leases, purchase and leasebacks, secured debt financing, engine leasing and fleet advisory services, and supports about 50 customers in about 35 countries. Its parent, AerCap, serves about 300 customers and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

OHI, which describes itself as Latin America’s largest provider of air mobility and delivery solutions, operates through Omni Taxi Aéreo in Brazil, Omni Helicopters Guyana Inc. and Omni Helicopters International Mozambique. Its services include crew change, emergency medical services, firefighting, SAR, and cargo and utility work.

S-92 support in Brazil

Sheedy also pointed to the recent opening of the first Sikorsky-authorized S-92 Customer Support Center, in Cabo Frio. Heli-One, a helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider, opened the center on May 27, 2026, with the support of Sikorsky and Milestone. It provides scheduled and unscheduled maintenance on any S-92 in the region and is the foundation of a planned S-92 Center of Excellence offering parts provisioning, overhaul and repair. Kevin Spengler, Heli-One President, said the center will shorten maintenance turnaround times and improve parts provisioning.

In its May 2026 release, Lockheed Martin said Milestone owned 17 of the approximately 40 S-92 aircraft operating in South America, and that about 275 S-92s were operational worldwide, most of them carrying crews to offshore oil and gas rigs. The S-92 carries 19 passengers up to a 200 nautical mile radius.

Sikorsky has also announced a new U.S. production line for the S-92A. Lockheed Martin said that by 2028 Sikorsky will be able to produce 12 S-92A+ aircraft a year, and that the S-92A+ has a new main gearbox with a minimum of 6,000 flight hours between overhauls and a maximum gross weight of 27,700 pounds.

Milestone did not disclose the financial terms of the transaction.