Boeing upgrades its forecast for China’s demand for narrowbodies.

A quiet battle likely will simmer at Chicago Midway as a startup provider of anti-overrun technology takes on the heretofore uncontested ruler of engineered materials arresting systems.

More than two years after Delta Air Lines became the first U.S. carrier to announce it would substantially reduce its 50-seat regional jet fleet, its transformation is nearly complete. Although Delta Connection soon will operate a fraction of the Embraer ERJ 145s and Bombardier CRJ200s it once flew, Delta does not expect any cities to lose service.

In contrast to Tokyo’s Narita and Haneda airports, Kansai has been able to use its greater available capacity to draw new flights from Japanese and foreign airlines. It is positioning itself well to take advantage of an increase in overseas visitor numbers. This has been particularly evident with LCCs, as Japan’s new budget airlines establish bases and grow their networks at Kansai. In addition, several foreign LCCs have launched service to Osaka, and more plan to follow.

Many of Europe’s legacy airlines, Austrian Airlines among them, are experiencing bitter disputes with employees about cost cuts. But now that Austrian seems to have found a compromise with labor, management attention is shifting to fleet renewal and a sustainable model.

Indian LCC IndiGo has given Airbus its largest single order to date, for 250 new A320neos. A successful IPO in a still tumultuous air transport market will be key to fund the order—and it would cement IndiGo’s position as India’s leading domestic airline.

Executive Editor Jim Asker discusses the Japanese regional jet project with Asia-Pacific Bureau Chief Bradley Perrett and Jens Flottau, managing editor for commercial aviation.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ rollout of the Mitsubishi Regional Jet on Oct. 18 may have occurred later than planned, but it marked a major milestone in Japan’s efforts to get back into the commercial airliner business.