Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, has extended its partnership with Olympique Lyonnais, one of the most iconic clubs in the French league. The airline will remain the club’s shirt sponsor for another five years, until the end of the 2029-2030 season. Boutros Boutros, Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications, Marketing and Brand at Emirates said: “We’re pleased to announce our extended commitment to Olympique Lyonnais – one of the most loved and respected teams in France. We began sponsoring Olympique Lyonnais in 2020 and the partnership has yielded significant brand visibility for Emirates. We share values of excellence, community engagement, and an innovative spirit, and we will continue building on our collaborative success. The renewal also reflects our commitment to Lyon, the Rhône Alpes region and to France. We look forward to engaging with and bringing fans from all over the world closer to the action.”

As part of Autism Awareness month, several milestones have been achieved on Emirates’ journey to make travel more accessible for all. One year after Emirates’ first successful ‘travel rehearsal’, the programme is now being rolled out across 17 cities – allowing children with autism to practice the journey through the airport in order to prepare for real flights. Emirates has also achieved its designation as the world’s first Autism Certified Airline™, with more than 30,000 cabin crew and ground staff now trained to support customers with autism. For the month of April, Emirates highlighted autism awareness to millions of passengers globally, showcasing a selection of movies, podcasts and TV shows about neurodiversity on its inflight entertainment system, ice.

United today announced an investment in blended wing body (BWB) aircraft start-up JetZero. The company is creating an aircraft design that has the potential to deliver jet fuel efficiency and a greatly enhanced customer experience. The investment includes a path to order up to 100 airplanes and an option for an additional 100. The conditional purchase agreement is based on JetZero achieving development milestones, including flight of a full-scale demonstrator in 2027, among other conditions, including that the aircraft meet United's safety, business and operating requirements.

Breaking Travel News’s aviation correspondent Phil Blizzard, ahead of ATM 2025, looks at the development of sports sponsorship by the Middle East aviation sector - starting with Dubai’s home based Emirates Airline who is the official airline for Arabian Travel Market.

China Airlines (CAL), a Taiwan-based carrier, announced that registration for the 2025 CI Marathon - Starry Night Run are now open. Everyone is invited to hit the road together at Dajia River Park in Taipei on Saturday, October 11 for the Half-Marathon (21km) division, the Run for Health (10K) division, and the Family Starlight (5K) division. As a bonus, there will be a prize draw worth more than TWD 3.3 million, including 35 air fares and mileage rewards. Registration is open until June 23. The number of places is limited so runners should register early.

EVA Air is launching a new service between Taipei and Dallas on October 3 this year, offering three weekly flights and bringing the total to nine passenger gateways in North America, including Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver. The new gateway not only enables EVA Air to offer the greatest number of destinations and the most extensive flight network from Taiwan to North America but also makes it the only airline in Asia operating two destinations in Texas.