GERMANY: Lufthansa Strike, Hundreds Of Flights Were Cancelled

Lufthansa has cancelled 1,300 flights after it lost a last-minute legal bid to halt a strike by cabin crew.

The two-day action by members of the UFO union centres on disagreements over pay and conditions.

About 180,000 passengers are set to face travel disruption.

The UFO union said it would hit all Lufthansa flights from German airports.

Other airlines in the group – including Eurowings, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, and Brussels Airlines - are not affected.

Lufthansa cancelled 700 flights on Thursday and 600 on Friday, amounting to about one-fifth of its planned flights over the 48-hour period.

A Frankfurt labour court rejected an application from the airline to prevent the strike on Wednesday, which is part of a long-running dispute.

The carrier achieved an Adjusted EBIT of €1.3 billion for the third quarter of 2019, only slightly below the €1.4 billion of the prior-year period.

Against the backdrop of higher fuel costs, which were €171 million above their 2018 level in the third quarter, the group delivered a sound business performance for the period.

Our airlines were able to translate their premium quality and market strength into solid third-quarter earnings, confirms Carsten Spohr, Lufthansa chief executive.

At Eurowings the turnaround measures are showing first results; and at Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Lufthansa Cargo we will be taking tangible corrective action to improve earnings.

Lufthansa passengers can breathe a sigh of relief after the airline and cabin crew trade union UFO announced there are no new strikes on the horizon.

The two sides agreed to enter arbitration to resolve wage disputes.

German airline Lufthansa agreed to enter arbitration with cabin crew labor union UFO to resolve ongoing wage disputes, the two sides announced on Tuesday.

In a joint statement, the UFO union and Lufthansa said that talks over the past few days had been constructive and showed that we can come to a solution together.

The two sides have been locked into a dispute over pay for some 21,000 staff members as well as the union's legal status.

According to UFO, Lufthansa agreed to withdraw several lawsuits against the union and to make improvements for entry-level workers.

In exchange, the union agreed to refrain from further strikes while negotiations are ongoing.

The move comes as a potential new wave of strikes threatened to impact hundreds of Lufthansa flights as well as its four German subsidiaries — Germanwings, Eurowings Germany, Lufthansa City Line and SunExpress Germany.

A two-day strike by Lufthansa cabin crew led to 1,500 flights being canceled last week, bringing the airline's operations to a standstill.

Lufthansa and UFO said they hope a neutral arbitrator will help find a solution that is acceptable to both sides.

Latest Airline Routes

Mumbai Airport welcomed the arrival of its newest European carrier on 30 March – Brussels Airlines. The Star Alliance member will offer five weekly flights on the 6,862-kilometre link from Brussels on a mixture of its A330-200s and -300s according to OAG schedules. Seen carrying out traditional lamp-lighting ceremony to welcome the airline to Mumbai.

Brussels Airlines this week also began flights to Funchal, with the inaugural crew being greeted with flowers on arrival. This is the only route of the three launched by Brussels Airlines this week that will face direct competition. The 2,663-kilometre route will be flown by the Star Alliance member weekly (Saturdays) on its 141-seat A319s.

Brussels Airlines this week initiated three new scheduled services from its hub at Brussels (BRU), with the most significant being a 6,862-kilometre link to Mumbai (BOM). Launched 30 March, the service marks the end of a one-year gap of scheduled flights between Brussels and India, with Jet Airways, which served both Mumbai and Delhi from Brussels, having moved its European hub to Amsterdam at the end of March last year.

Our new service has received a warm welcome here in the Indian market. We see very encouraging booking results for travel to Belgium and many destinations beyond Brussels including Canada, US, UK, Spain, France and several African destinations, said Patrick Roofthooft, Brussels Airlines Director India and Commercial Development.

Brussels Airlines will operate the route on a mixture of its A330-200s and -300s on a five times weekly basis, with no other carrier offering direct competition. Not only did Brussels Airlines begin its first flights to India this week, but it also linked Brussels to Funchal (FNC) and Yerevan (EVN).

Flights to both destinations will be flown weekly (Saturday), with the 2,663-kilometre connection to Funchal being operated on the airline’s A319s and the 3,281-kilometre link to Yerevan on A320s. While flights to the Armenian capital will not face direct competition, services to Funchal will go head-to-head with Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium and TUIfly, with both also operating weekly flights.

It should be noted that Brussels Airlines did begin services to Yerevan in December, though these were initially operated as charter flights. With scheduled services now in place, the airline will increase the frequency to Yerevan from Brussels to twice-weekly in July. Vote for either Brussels or Funchal’s FTWA in this week’s Arch of Triumph Public Vote. Vote for Mumbai Airport’s cake in this week’s Cake of the Week Public Vote.

Arkia Israeli Airlines has begun twice-weekly flights between Tel Aviv (TLV) and Milan Bergamo (BGY). The 2,638-kilometre sector will be flown by the airline’s E195s and faces no direct competition. However, three carriers offer flights between Tel Aviv and Milan Malpensa; El Al with 10 weekly flights, easyJet with five weekly flights and Neos Air with twice-weekly flights. According to OAG data the Israeli carrier now operates scheduled services from Tel Aviv to 11 destinations in 11 different countries.

Cathay Pacific Airways has added Israel to its network with the introduction on 26 March of a four times weekly service between Hong Kong (HKG) and Tel Aviv (TLV). The oneworld carrier will use its 280-seat A350-900s on the new route. Starting last May the airline has acquired 12 of the type with the most recent addition being delivered this month.

The new route to Tel Aviv has already proved so popular that a fifth weekly frequency will be added from 1 September. Paul Loo, Director of Corporate Development at Cathay Pacific, said: “We are very excited to launch this service. Tel Aviv is such a technologically advanced business capital and Hong Kong is the international financial centre in Asia, we are very excited to link these two cities together.

The route is already flow by El Al, which offers six weekly flights. Next up for Cathay Pacific are new routes to Barcelona and Christchurch starting in July and December respectively.

Jetstar Pacific Airlines on 18 November began a four times weekly service on the 1,490-kilometre route between Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) and Hong Kong (HKG). The route, which will be flown using the LCC’s fleet of 12 A320s, is already served by Cathay Pacific Airways (17 times weekly) and Vietnam Airlines (10 times weekly). Jetstar Pacific already serves Hong Kong from Hanoi, a route it launched on 7 September 2015. This winter the airline will serve 19 destinations from Ho Chi Minh City, 15 in Vietnam as well as Bangkok, Hong Kong and Singapore, plus Guangzhou, a new route which will start at the beginning of December.

Hong Kong Airlines has further expanded its network in Japan with the introduction on 14 September of twice-weekly (Wednesdays and Saturdays) flights from Hong Kong (HKG) to Yonago (YGJ). The 2,375-kilometre route will be flown by the airline’s A320s and faces no direct competition. This becomes the carrier’s eighth destination in Japan which it now serves with 58 weekly flights.

In his speech at the inaugural ceremony, Stanley Kan, Director of Hong Kong Airlines’ Service Delivery Department, said: “The beautiful natural landscape, local cuisine and cultural scene of Tottori Prefecture is very appealing to tourists from Hong Kong and broader regions.

With Hong Kong Airlines, passengers can choose to travel around Osaka, Okayama and Yonago, providing more options in their trip planning.” Hong Kong Airlines is the third biggest carrier in the Hong Kong to Japan market with 17% of seats. It lags behind Cathay Pacific Airways (35%) and HK Express (18%) but is ahead of All Nippon Airways (9%) and Dragonair (5%). Curiously, Japanese carriers only account for 22% of seat capacity in the market.

Hong Kong Airlines on 11 November became the third carrier to link Hong Kong (HKG) and Auckland (AKL) with non-stop flights. The 9,164-kilometre sector is already served by Air New Zealand and Cathay Pacific Airways with daily flights. Hong Kong Airlines will also operate the route on a daily basis using its 283-seat A330-200s.

In his speech at the welcome ceremony, Mr. Li Dianchun, CCO of Hong Kong Airlines, said: We are delighted with the successful launch of this much-anticipated new route in Auckland. So far, we have received an overwhelming response from travellers since tickets became available for purchase. As a result, we have already increased our service to 10 times weekly from 11 December to 13 February 2017.

We also anticipate strong demand out of the New Zealand market to Hong Kong and connecting onto our network in Asia. We hope that the new route will further strengthen the cultural, tourism and business ties between these two countries. This new route easily becomes the airline’s longest sector beating the 7,033-kilometre route to Gold Coast in Australia. The unaligned carrier now serves a total of 32 destinations non-stop from Hong Kong on its fleet of 23 A330s and 11 A320s. See how Auckland Airport’s FTWA compares to others from around the world.

Aegean Airlines launched flights on its latest route to Germany on 20 May, beginning a twice-weekly (Wednesdays and Saturdays) service between Athens (ATH) and Hannover (HAJ). The Star Alliance member will operate the 1,954-kilometre sector on its fleet of A320s, with no other carrier operating the city pairing.

With this launch, Aegean Airlines now serves eight destinations in Germany from Athens on 35 weekly flights including Berlin Tegel, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and Kassel-Calden, with the latter being operated by the airline for the documenta 14 art exhibition. The Greek carrier will stop flights to Kassel-Calden on 23 June.

Air Canada has expanded its presence at Denver (DEN) by beginning twice-daily flights from Vancouver (YVR). The carrier already serves the Colorado city from Montreal and Toronto Pearson. “Air Canada has been a valued airline partner at Denver since 1995, and is our longest-tenured foreign flag carrier,” said Kim Day, CEO of Denver Airport at the Vancouver launch.

These new flights between Denver and Vancouver will provide more options for travelers to explore two of the most dynamic cities in North America.Air Canada will operate the 1,788-kilometre route, which launched on 18 May, twice-daily on its fleet of CRJ 700s according to OAG schedules.

The Canadian flag carrier joins fellow Star Alliance member United Airlines on the route, with the latter already offering 20 weekly flights. By launching flights to Denver, Air Canada now links Vancouver to 15 airports in the US on 220 weekly flights.

Hong Kong Airlines has chosen to re-enter the highly competitive market between Hong Kong (HKG) and Tokyo Narita (NRT). On 1 July the airline resumed service on the 2,961-kilometre route, operating twice-daily with a mix of A330-300s and A330-200s. It last served the market in January 2013. Competition is provided by: Cathay Pacific Airways (four daily flights); All Nippon Airways, HK Express and Vanilla Air (all with twice-daily flights); as well as Japan Airlines and Jetstar Japan, who both operate daily flights.

This becomes Hong Kong Airlines’ sixth route to Japan. In his speech at the welcome ceremony, Mr. Li Dianchun, CCO of Hong Kong Airlines, said: As the capital of Japan and one of Asia’s world cities, Tokyo has always been a top business and travel destination for Hong Kong travellers. In recent years, Hong Kong Airlines has been actively expanding our network in Japan. The opening of the Hong Kong-Narita route is of special strategic significance to us as we now cover this crucial destination in Kanto area.

British Airways flight BA 7025 departed Birmingham (BHX) on the inaugural service to Florence (FLR) on 20 May, but it also marked a significant return to regional flying for the airline. It was the first of four new regional routes launched from the Midlands, as well as from Bristol (BRS) in the UK’s Southwest, this weekend and the first time BA’s colours have been seen at either airport for years. The airline last flew from both airports in 2007 when its regional airline business BA Connect was sold to Flybe.

Paul Kehoe, Birmingham Airport CEO said: Today is a momentous day for Birmingham Airport. To see the British Airways tailfin on the ground after ten years is great news for the region and adds to the other IAG carriers already here. The introduction of four routes for the summer season ensures passengers have more choice on popular routes from the airport and additionally have the chance to visit the beautiful city of Florence, which was previously unserved.

Alex Cruz, BA CEO and chairman said: We continue our regional growth following the successful launch of services from Stansted last year.

Now we are flying from Birmingham once again we are excited about the future opportunities.” In addition to these eight services, the oneworld carrier also started nine more from London City (LCY), Dublin (DUB), London Stansted (STN) and Manchester (MAN) over the last seven days. Jonathan Ford, anna.aero’s Assistant Editor, went to Bristol to witness the start of BA’s operations.

Germania launched the first connection between Zurich (ZRH) and Rostock (RLG) on 19 May. Operated twice-weekly (Fridays and Sundays), the German airline will serve the unique 764-kilometre city pair on its fleet of 737-700s. On 26 May, the Hanseatic city will also boast a direct link to Vienna thanks to Germania.

Dörthe Hausmann, MD Rostock Airport said: We have established successful links with South Germany over the last few years. The connections to Linz and Basel set up over the last few years have also been promising. With these newly established connections to Vienna and Zurich, considerably more tourists from Switzerland and Austria can bring their financial strength to our region.

Claus Altenburg, Germania’s Director Sales Development Routes and Systems added: We are glad to be a partner of the regions and we are also pleased to strengthen their collaboration. These city links will complement our range of leisure flight connections from Rostock Airport for passengers living in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Meanwhile, Vienna and Zurich are great cities to which we are delighted to offer connections. In addition to this service the airline has opened a base in Palma de Mallorca (PMI), adding three new routes to three different countries – namely Dortmund (DTM; Germany), Maastricht (MST; Netherlands) and Strasbourg (SXB; France).

Throughout the summer season, daily flights to Friedrichshafen, Münster/Osnabrück, Dresden, Bremen and Nuremberg will be available from the base. Erfurt and Rostock will also be connected with the island several times per week. Flights to Cuxhaven/Nordholz will also be offered in autumn from Palma de Mallorca.

New services were also launched from Hamburg (HAM) and Berlin Schönefeld (SXF), the airline’s ninth and 14th largest bases in terms of weekly seats, to Menorca (MAH) and Kos (KGS) respectively.

AirAsia X Indonesia on 19 May introduced daily flights from Denpasar (DPS) on the Indonesian island of Bali to Mumbai (BOM) in India via Kuala Lumpur (KUL) in Malaysia. The 3,621-kilometre sector between Malaysia and India is already served by Malaysia Airlines (double-daily flights) and Malindo Air (eight weekly flights).

AirAsia X Indonesia will operate the route using its 377-seat A330-300s of which it currently has two. AirAsia X Indonesia CEO, Captain Sulistyo Nugroho Hanung said, “AirAsia X Indonesia is pleased to offer guests this new daily flight between Mumbai and Bali, Indonesia. We are so delighted to offer free seats on this route and hope that many will take advantage of this opportunity to travel to our beautiful island destination.

We see this route as promising, as it opens connectivity for India’s population of one billion people to their dream holiday destination.

airberlin launched a new long-haul service from Berlin Tegel (TXL) on flight AB 7022 to Los Angeles (LAX). From 16 May, the airline now offers three connections per week on its A330-200 fleet between the capital of Germany and the second largest city in the US. “This new long-haul flight from Berlin Tegel to Los Angeles is the next step in airberlin’s new strategic policy.

Both locations are of great importance to the international film industry. It therefore makes sense to link the two metropolises,” said airberlin CEO Thomas Winkelmann. We are happy about this long-haul connection to Los Angeles, the city of film, said Engelbert Lütke Daldrup, Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg CEO. It provides business travellers as well as tourists with a direct connection to the west coast of the US. It will also strengthen our region by providing it with additional visitors

An additional inaugural flight will follow on 29 May as airberlin launches services from Tegel to San Francisco. With its current summer schedule, airberlin offers a total of 33 weekly non-stop services to five destinations in the US out of Berlin Tegel: Chicago O’Hare, Los Angeles, Miami, New York JFK and San Francisco.

Allegiant Air has begun flights on three unique routes this week, starting on 17 May with flights between Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Belleville (BLV) in Illinois. The 1,654-kilometre route will be served by the carrier twice-weekly (Wednesdays and Saturdays). On 19 May, a second route to Fort Lauderdale was also launched, with Allegiant Air connecting the Floridian airport with Louisville (SDF) in Kentucky. The 1,422-kilometre city pairing will also be served twice-weekly (Mondays and Fridays).

The third and final route to launch this week was a 1,479-kilometre sector between Austin (AUS) and Indianapolis (IND). Now the race fans of the Indy 500 can easily come to our Grand Prix at the Circuit of America or see a concert there and enjoy the live music capital of the world,” said Jim Smith, Executive Director of Austin Airport.

We welcome Allegiant Air’s growth at Austin’s Airport. Also operating twice-weekly (Mondays and Fridays), the city pairing between the racing centres of the US is scheduled to operate on Allegiant Air’s fleet of MD-83s. Both routes involving Fort Lauderdale will be operated on the carrier’s fleet of A320s.

Cebu Pacific Air started its second new domestic route from Cebu (CEB) this week with the launch on 16 May of a four times weekly service to Cotabato (CBO). The 351-kilometre route will be flown by CebGo using its ATR 72s. No other carrier connects these two airports. Cotabato is located on the province of Maguindanao.

The airport’s only other scheduled services are to the capital, Manila, which are offered by both Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines. Cotabato City is home of Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Masjid, also known as the Grand Mosque of Cotabato, which is the largest mosque in the Philippines. Completed in 2011 the facility can accommodate 15,000 people and was funded by the Sultan of Brunei.

Croatia Airlines has this week begun four new capital connections from Zagreb (ZAG), with the carrier now linking the capital of Croatia to Bucharest (OTP), Helsinki (HEL), Oslo Gardermoen (OSL) and Stockholm Arlanda (ARN). In general, the interest for Mediterranean countries has increased heavily among Swedish travellers. Zagreb is also a completely new direct route from Stockholm Arlanda and it is also one of the top unserved destinations.

We welcome Croatian Airlines’ expansion at Stockholm Arlanda, giving Swedes more opportunity to experience Croatia, said Elizabeth Axtelius, Aviation Business Director at Swedavia of the new link between Sweden and Croatia. Along with Arlanda, none of the other three capital connections launched by Croatia Airlines will face direct competition.

While the three new routes to Scandinavia will operate on 100-seat CRJ 1000s leased from Air Nostrum, Bucharest services will be flown on the airline’s own Q400s. All four routes will be flown three times weekly, while the average sector length is 1,427 kilometres.

Ethiopian Airlines introduced Chengdu (CTU) to its network on 22 May, meaning that the Star Alliance member now serves four destinations in China from Addis Ababa (ADD), with Chengdu joining Beijing, Shanghai Pudong and Guangzhou. Ethiopian Airlines’ flights were originally planned to operate three times weekly from the date of inauguration, however the airline’s next flight on the 7,125-kilometre sector will be on 2 June.

From the latter date a regular three times weekly (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) service will operate. Facing no direct competition, Ethiopian Airlines will serve the city pair on its 787-8s, with the carrier now reporting to have 17 of the type in its fleet, with a further two still to be delivered.

With launching flights to Chengdu, Ethiopian Airlines now serves 13 airports in Asia on 100 weekly flights, including Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Delhi, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Mumbai, Seoul Incheon, Singapore and Tokyo Narita according to OAG schedules.

Frontier Airlines this week introduced two new unique routes to San Diego (SAN), with the carrier launching flights to the Californian city from Cincinnati (CVG) and Cleveland (CLE). The growth of Frontier at Cincinnati over the last four years has been incredible,” said Candace McGraw, CEO Cincinnati Airport.

The airline now offers 17 non-stop year-round and/or seasonal destinations on 93 flights a week. Frontier also becomes the airport’s fourth largest carrier in terms of daily flights and second largest carrier in terms of seats offered. This success would not have been possible without the support of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky community.

Frontier will operate the 2,993-kilometre link between Cincinnati and San Diego, which launched 21 May, three times weekly (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays).

Flights on the 3,254-kilometre city pairing of Cleveland and San Diego, which began 22 May, will be flown four times weekly, with both routes being served by the carrier’s fleet of A320s. Finally this week, Frontier has also started a connection between Cleveland and Houston Intercontinental (IAH).

Also launched 22 May, the 1,754-kilometre route, which will also be flown on A320s, will go head-to-head with United Airlines, with the Star Alliance member already providing 33 weekly flights on the sector according to OAG schedules.

Nordica has expanded its network by introducing flights between its base in Tallinn (TLL) and Hamburg (HAM). The carrier, which launched the route on 16 May, will offer three weekly flights (Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays) on the 1,109-kilometre connection between Germany’s second largest city and the Estonian capital.

The route, which will not face direct competition, will be served by CRJ 900s operated by LOT Polish Airlines. With this launch, Nordica now serves three airports in Germany, with it also linking Tallinn to Munich (twice-daily) and Berlin Tegel (twice-weekly), with the latter only being summer seasonal. Earlier this week the airline launched flights to St. Petersburg in Russia.

Pegasus Airlines has added Saarbrücken (SCN) to its network this week, beginning a twice-weekly operation from Antalya (AYT) on 22 May. The seasonal flight, which will operate until October, initially begins with a Monday rotation, with a sector on Fridays to be added in early June.

The airline operates to 20 airports from Antalya, with Saarbrücken becoming the seventh in Germany, according to this week’s OAG schedules. Flown by its 189-seat 737-800s, the route faces direct competition from SunExpress, which offers the city pair three times weekly.

SalamAir has entered the Pakistani market this week, beginning a three times weekly operation from Muscat (MCT) to Sialkot (SKT) on 16 May. This will be the first stage of the airline’s development in the market, as it will introduce services to Multan and Karachi in the coming weeks. The LCC will face competition from incumbents Pakistan International Airlines (twice-weekly) and Shaheen Air International (weekly) on the city pair.

The 1,860-kilometre sector will be flown by SalamAir’s growing A320 fleet. Sialkot becomes SalamAir’s fourth destination, with it already serving Dubai Al Maktoum, Jeddah and Salalah from Muscat.

Ukraine International Airlines has launched its second route to Milan Bergamo (BGY) this week, starting a daily service to the Italian airport from Kiev Boryspil (KBP). Launched 16 May, the 1,651-kilometre route will be served daily on a mixture of the carrier’s 737-800s and E190s according to OAG Schedules Analyser data.

The link from the Ukrainian capital will not face any direct competition. The airline started serving Milan Bergamo on 28 April, the day on which it inaugurated a twice-weekly (Mondays and Saturdays) summer seasonal service from Chernivtsi. Milan Bergamo is the second airport in Milan to be served by Ukraine International Airlines, as it already offers daily flights from Boryspil to Milan Malpensa.

Volotea expanded its presence in Montpellier (MPL) on 20 May, with the addition of a weekly (Saturdays) rotation to Bastia (BIA). The 463-kilometre sector, which will be flown by a variety of the airline’s equipment, joins the carrier’s five other domestic services from Montpellier – namely to Nantes, Strasbourg, Lille, Brest and Ajaccio. No other airline flies on this sector.

Wizz Air has been busy promoting the eight new routes it opened this week across Europe, with the services including two new airports to the airline’s network – Frankfurt (FRA) and Osijek (OSI). Commenting on the launch of flights to Frankfurt, Gabor Vasarhelyi, Corporate Communications Manager at Wizz Air, said: We are thrilled to be starting operations from Frankfurt Airport, the 11th airport that Wizz Air serves in Germany.

Wizz Air will connect Frankfurt to Sofia with a daily service and the carrier will shortly launch a second route to another dynamic Central European capital, Budapest begins December.

By launching flights to Osijek, Wizz Air now serves two airports in Croatia, with its new route between Basel and Osijek complementing the carrier’s existing seasonal services to Split from London Luton and Warsaw Chopin.

Apart from the airline’s new service between Sofia and Frankfurt, the remaining sectors launched by Wizz Air this week will operate twice-weekly. The average sector length of Wizz Air’s eight new routes is 1,119 kilometres.

RWANDA: More Destinations For RwandAir

RwandAir has now launched its seventh West Africa destination, Abidjan, as part of the airline’s continued rollout of new countries important to its strategy to connect Africa via Kigali.

This follows the start of commercial flights on Rwanda Air a month ago to Cotonou and both new destinations are expected to begin feeding traffic into the WB network via Kigali to Eastern and Southern Africa, Dubai and soon to India’s commercial capital of Mumbai.

The recently acquired first Airbus A330-200 by Rwanda Air is meanwhile making yet more maiden appearances across RwandAir’s network with the most recent deployment taking the new bird to Cotonou, Libreville and Douala, where travel agents, corporate clients, invited guests from government, diplomatic corps and the business community were able to tour the aircraft while it was on the ground in the respective cities.

Named ‘Ubumwe‘, a Kinyarwanda word for Unity, will the aircraft now commence commercial flights four times a week to Dubai first before the arrival of a second Airbus A330-300 in November will then pave the way to launch operations to Mumbai.

The airline is banking on the aircraft’s superior inflight comfort and three class cabin configuration which offers Business Class, a dedicated cabin for 21 Premium Economy Seats and an Economy Class with 18 inch seats, the widest presently on offer by commercial airlines.

RwandAir will put several schedule changes into place, aimed to make travel to and from Southern African countries faster and easier, and offering seamless connections into their trans-Africa network and to their new intercontinental destinations.

Johannesburg will revert to nonstop flights, with several traffic days earmarked for a second daily service between Kigali and South Africa’s commercial hub. This change will also facilitate onward travel to Cape Town or Durban – and vice versa – which the current schedule makes difficult at best.

Come January next year, RwandAir will put several schedule changes into place, aimed to make travel to and from Southern African countries faster and easier, and offering seamless connections into their trans-Africa network and to their new intercontinental destinations.

Johannesburg will revert to nonstop flights, with several traffic days earmarked for a second daily service between Kigali and South Africa’s commercial hub. This change will also facilitate onward travel to Cape Town or Durban – and vice versa – which the current schedule makes difficult at best.

New destination Harare, Zimbabwe will, when launched in mid January, be combined with Lusaka, Zambia in a standalone triangular service routing KGL – LUN – HRE – KGL. Flights will in fact be raised from the present three times a week to LUN to five flights a week at that stage January.

The introduction of long haul services to Mumbai and later in 2017 to London will see RwandAir tap into the market of connecting passengers with yet greater determination, to make sure that they can fill their new Airbus A330’s but also carry more traffic into their Eastern and West African networks.

All flights to South Africa will be operated on Boeing 737 aircraft and, while no confirmation has been received as yet, there is speculation that the flights from Kigali to HRE and LUN will see the Bombardier CRJ900 deployed on that route.

The lack of slots for flights from Kigali to London Heathrow is seen as the key reason why RwandAir is now eying Gatwick, the UK capital’s second busiest airport.

The airline’s CEO Mr. John Mirenge, while speaking in Abidjan / Ivory Coast after the official inaugural flight to RwandAir’s latest African destination, gave the clearest indication yet that by 2018 Europe will be on the map for Rwanda’s national carrier.

During the runup of the delivery ceremony of the airline’s first Airbus A330 in Toulouse a few weeks ago did Mr. Mirenge also mention that London may be combined with another European waypoint but would not commit if that could be Frankfurt or another European gateway. At present does RwandAir only operate in codeshare with Brussels Airlines to the European capital.

Following the delivery of two additional aircraft in November, a brand new Boeing B737-800NG and a larger Airbus A330-300 variant is a widening of destinations expected in both Africa and beyond with Mumbai the first intercontinental target of the airline’s relentless expansion drive, fully backed incidentally by the Rwanda government.

In a related development are results due to be announced very soon of the IATA audit on Safe Ground Operations, in short ISAGO, which will certify RwandAir’s ground handling unit to be compliant with global best practice and standards.

Lufthansa Positive Despite Loss, Says Not Interested In Alitalia

German airline group Lufthansa Thursday reported a much larger net loss in the first three months of the year, but sought to play up a return to positive operating results.

The group reported a net loss of 68 million euros ($74 million) between January and March, compared with an 8-million-euro loss in the same period last year.

Adjusted operating, or underlying profit stood at 25 million euros, a marked improvement on a 53-million-euro loss in the first quarter of 2016, on the back of revenues up 11.2 percent at 7.7 billion euros.

"For a period that is traditionally difficult for the airline industry, we have posted our first positive earnings result since 2008," chief financial officer Ulrik Svensson said in a statement.

Svensson pointed to increased demand at the Lufthansa Cargo division and maintenance unit Lufthansa Technik as the biggest contributors to the improvement.

It was also the first time the group's financial reporting included Brussels Airlines, which it bought at the end of 2016.

Looking ahead, the group left untouched its forecast for the full year of "substantially higher revenues" than 2016's 31.7 billion euros and "slightly lower" adjusted operating profit than the 1.75 billion euros brought in last year.

German airline group Lufthansa said on day it is not interested in snapping up troubled Italian carrier Alitalia, as Rome hunts for a buyer after workers rejected a bailout plan. “We are clearly not there to buy Alitalia,” finance chief Ulrik Svensson said during a teleconference with analysts on Lufthansa’s first-quarter financial results.

Italian government ministers said Wednesday they would not oppose a takeover bid by the German behemoth, as they announced that Alitalia would be sold “to the highest bidder”.

Lufthansa, which already owns a stable of carriers including Austrian Airlines, Swiss, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings, on Thursday reported a net loss of 68 million euros between January and March — a worse performance than the same period last year.

The result comes after a record year for Frankfurt-based Lufthansa, in which it booked profits of 1.75 billion euros (USD 1.90 billion) despite fierce competition from low-cost competitors and Gulf airlines such as Etihad.

Loss-making Alitalia’s future is up in the air after its workforce rejected a restructuring plan which management had presented as the only alternative to bankruptcy.

Etihad, which owns a 49 percent stake in Alitalia, and other shareholders had made staff acceptance of the plan a precondition for their participation in a two-billion-euro recapitalisation plan involving a combination of loans and new shareholder financing.

But despite earlier proposals being watered down in negotiations with unions, over two thirds of staff voted to reject them in a ballot on Monday, in which more than 90 percent of employees took part.

The company’s board on Tuesday asked the government to appoint administrators to find a purchaser or organise the winding up of the company.

Etihad also holds a stake in struggling German airline Air Berlin, which has delayed the release of its 2016 annual results — widely expected to show the firm in a poor light –until Friday.

Lufthansa has been mooted as a potential buyer for Air Berlin in the German press if the Gulf carrier decides to review its strategy in Europe.

GERMANY: Lufthansa Acquires All Shares In Brussels Airlines

As of 2018 will Brussels Airlines be fully integrated into the Lufthansa Group and join the Eurowings Group. Brussels Airlines, including its attractive Brussels market, its well established Africa network and its advantageous cost structure which has allowed the leading Belgian airline to successfully compete with the tough low-cost competition in the Belgian market, will further strengthen the Lufthansa Group and Eurowings Group market position.

After the agreement of Lufthansa and the shareholders of SN Airholding on the modalities of the complete take-over, Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s Executive Board decided yesterday to exercise the call option for the outstanding 55 percent of the shares. The call option comes into effect by 31st of December 2016. The closing of the transaction will happen by the beginning of January 2017.

The price for the take-over of the remaining 55 percent of the shares had already been part of the agreement for the call option in 2008. The price for the acquisition of the remaining 55 percent of the shares is 2.6 million euro, which will be transferred to a consortium of 30 shareholders.

'Following the acquisition of the 45% share of SN Airholding eight years ago, we now want to take a next step in our already very solid and successful cooperation. As a longstanding shareholder and partner of Brussels Airlines, we are already closely linked to each other. Therefore we value Belgium and especially Brussels as highly attractive markets that perfectly complement our offer in the heart of Europe.

Brussels Airlines already has a very competitive cost structure and brings a well-established long-haul network, especially to and from Africa, to the Lufthansa Group portfolio. We also very much appreciate the high qualification, motivation and performance of the 3,500 Brussels Airlines employees'

UGANDA: Sebastiaan Spijkers Brussels Airlines Manager Moves To Kigali

Sebastiaan Spijkers leaving the country after nearly three years at the helm of the Brussels Airlines team in Kampala and Entebbe, moving to Kigali / Rwanda.

The airline used the opportunity to invite the Belgian community in Uganda, staff of the Royal Belgian Embassy, corporate clients and officials on the occasion, not only to celebrate the upcoming festive season but also to say a fond farewell to Sebastiaan and welcome back a familiar face, Geert Lemmen, who already represented Sabena and SN Brussels in Uganda in past years.

Geert, who arrived in Kampala a few days ago from Conakry, expressed his delight to be back in familiar territory and the function last evening showed how he was instantly settling in, renewing old acquaintances and friendships.

Apart from Brussels Airlines staff on duty at the airport to handling the incoming and outgoing flight from and back to Brussels was every other team member also at hand to interact with their regular clientele, combining the farewell for Sebastiaan with the welcome for Geert with Seasons Greetings to everyone present.

His Excellency the Belgian Ambassador Mr. Hugo Verbist was the Guest of Honour for the function and as usual took the opportunity to highlight the importance of Brussels Airlines not just for the Belgian community but for Ugandans at large.
Combined have Sabena, SN Brussels and now Brussels Airlines served Uganda since independence with uninterrupted flights, apart from the one year transition from Sabena to SN Brussels, making it the oldest European carrier to fly to Entebbe.

Sebastiaan, We wish you the best at your new posting in Kigali, Rwanda.

Pilots’ Union, Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) Called On Members To Strike Again

Pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) has called on its members to strike again. The next walkouts have been announced, this time with a duration of two days.

This Tuesday, on 29 November, there will be strikes affecting all short-haul flights from 00:01 to 23:59. And for the following day, Wednesday, 30 November, strikes affecting all Lufthansa flights departing Germany have been announced from 00:01 to 23:59.

Lufthansa’s representatives are very disappointed that VC does not want to continue talks, but is rather seeking another escalation and calling for additional strikes.

VC has continued to insist on demands that are far beyond what other professions have demanded, for instance. This is unacceptable.

Lufthansa will prepare a special flight schedule for Tuesday and Wednesday as quickly as possible. So far, over 345,000 passengers have been affected by 2,755 flight cancellations during the four days of strikes in the past week. The Group airlines Eurowings, Germanwings, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Air Dolomiti and Brussels Airlines are not affected by the strike. The pilots of Lufthansa Cargo have also not been called on to strike. Flights to and from Germany that are operated by Group airlines are flying as scheduled.

Lufthansa asks all its customers to take the precaution of checking the status of their flight on LH.com before travelling to the airport.

GERMANY: Lufthansa Will Grow Eurowings,

For years, as low cost airlines have grown in Europe, the Lufthansa Group mostly has stuck to what it knows best — carrying business travelers and higher-end leisure customers from its four key hubs, Zurich, Vienna, Frankfurt, and Munich, to key world capitals in Europe and elsewhere.

But like every other legacy airline group in Europe, Lufthansa, which owns Lufthansa Airlines, Austrian Airlines and Swiss International Air Lines, is feeling more squeeze than ever before from discounters like Ryanair and EasyJet. So after making some half-hearted attempts in recent years to try to compete with lower cost airlines, Lufthansa Group is telling investors it finally has an aggressive plan to thwart the competition.

Lufthansa will grow its low cost subsidiary, Eurowings, in the coming years, hoping passengers will choose it over better-known competition. The airline is not new — it started flying in 1994, and Lufthansa Group assumed control about a decade ago — but until recently it has been a bit player, with a fleet and customer base far smaller than Ryanair’s or EasyJet’s.

Now, through proposed deals with Brussels Airlines and Air Berlin, Lufthansa Group is poised to turn Eurowings into the third-largest point-to-point airline in Europe by next summer, according to Group CEO Carsten Spohr. Eurowings, which historically has not flown traditional hubs, has a much different model than the hub-and-spoke full-service airlines of the Lufthansa Group.

Soon, Spohr said, Eurowings could have more than 160 aircraft, possibly giving it enough scale to compete with Ryanair, which is a little more than twice that size. That’s a major jump from the 30 or so aircraft Eurowings had a few years ago, before it merged operations with Germanwings, another Lufthansa-owned discounter. It’s also a big increase from the roughly 90 aircraft Eurowings operates today.

The decision to grow Eurowings comes as Ryanair, Europe’s most powerful discounter, expands into Frankfurt, Lufthansa’s top hub, for the first time. Ryanair made its announcement on Wednesday as Lufthansa Group reported its third quarter earnings and shared plans for Eurowings’ expansion. Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr told analysts he was watching the development “with great interest,” promising his company would “react as appropriate.”

Eurowings still does not operate from Frankfurt, though that could change at some point. Lufthansa Group has been increasingly willing to permit Eurowings to operate from its hubs, with the carrier expanding in Vienna this year and Munich next year. Eurowings is also beginning to expand its long-haul operation with widebody aircraft.

“Lufthansa has built an unrivaled operation here in Frankfurt that operates probably the strongest network of all European airlines in Europe,” Spohr said. “We are certainly not nervous to take on more competition. As a matter of fact we are competing already in many airports in Europe.”

Having expanded Eurowings by merging its brand with Germanwings, Spohr is now turning his attention to inorganic growth. New aircraft will help Germanwings add point-to-point routes outside of Germany.

“Eurowings is already the market leader in direct traffic in our home markets,” Spohr said. “But we also want to grow in other markets, and for that, we need partners.”

Perhaps most interesting is Lufthansa Group’s recent decision to wet-lease about 35 aircraft from Air Berlin for six years, beginning in March. Under the agreement, Air Berlin pilots and flight attendants will work the flights, but Eurowings will sell tickets and market the operation. It’s a relatively unusual arrangement, with wet-leases more commonly used by smaller airlines and charter carriers, but Spohr notes it’s cheaper than buying new planes.

“We plan to increase our presence in attractive European markets where we may already be active today,” Spohr said about plans for the Air Berlin fleet.

The cash will be vital for Air Berlin, which has been struggling to make money, disappointing Etihad Airways, one of its larger shareholders. And for Lufthansa Group, the deal helps sideline a competitor. That’s important, Spohr said Wednesday, because the European market has seen fewer airline mergers than its U.S. counterpart.

“Another reason why this step is so important is that it helps drive consolidation, and thereby the capacity discipline that’s so urgently needed in the European airline industry,” Spohr said.

Lufthansa Group also plans to transfer some Brussels Airlines aircraft to Eurowings, assuming the company is able to acquire the 55 percent of the Belgium-based carrier it does not already own. Lufthansa Group’s board approved the acquisition in September, and the transaction is supposed to close early next year.

But on Wednesday’s call, Spohr said it is too early to know how Eurowings would use the aircraft. He said the company will first focus on absorbing the Air Berlin aircraft.

“We’ll take the year of ‘17 to jointly analyze the integration to Eurowings when it comes to brand, when it comes to overhead, and which synergies will be realized,” Spohr said.

BELIGIUM: Brussels Airlines-TAP Portugal Codeshare Under Investigation By European Union

European Union (EU) regulators have formally raised antitrust concerns over a codeshare between Brussels Airlines and TAP Portugal, but have dropped a similar probe against Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines.

The EU inquiry into the Brussels Airlines and TAP Portugal codeshare on flights between Brussels and Lisbon was started in February 2011. On Oct. 27, the European Commission said it has issued a statement of objections to the airlines.

“We are concerned that in this particular case Brussels Airlines and TAP Portugal may have used their codeshare to restrict competition and harm passengers’ interests,” EU Commissioner in charge of competition policy Margrethe Vestager said.

The probe relates to the first three years of a codeshare signed in 2009, under which Brussels Airlines and TAP Portugal sold unlimited seats on one another’s flights between Brussels and Lisbon.

Prior to the 2009 agreement, the two airlines were the only competitors on the route. The European Commission said that, under the codeshare, Brussels Airlines and TAP Portugal discussed and implemented a capacity reduction and aligned prices on the route.

“The Commission takes the preliminary view that this combination of practices breaches EU rules that prohibit anti-competitive agreements. The Commission’s preliminary conclusion is that these practices eliminated competition on prices and capacity between the two airlines on the Brussels-Lisbon route and led to higher prices and less choice for consumers,” the Commission said.

The statement of objections is a preliminary view and not a final ruling. The airlines will now be given the opportunity to respond.

“TAP has always fully cooperated with the European Commission, providing all documentation and information requested. The statement of objections now submitted constitutes a mere procedural step through which the European Commission communicates the concerns identified to TAP,” the Portuguese carrier said. “TAP will have now a two-month period to present its position to the Commission, which may choose to file the process or to proceed with it. TAP will prepare its response and will continue to fully cooperate with the European Commission.”

Brussels Airlines issued a similar statement, saying it too has been fully cooperating with the European Commission. “We will put all efforts into place to demonstrate that the codeshare agreement with TAP Portugal is fully in line with industry practice and competition law. No further information can be provided at this time as investigations are ongoing.”

At the same time as announcing the TAP ruling, the Commission dismissed a separate codeshare antitrust probe involving Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines. “The Commission's investigation found that Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines did not have full marketing rights to each other's seat inventory and that they applied differing pricing strategies. Furthermore, the codeshare accounted for only a marginal share of the parties' sales on the routes of concern,” the Commission said.

ANGOLA: Iberia Runs Away From Angola

Information sent to corporate clients by Angola's TRAVELSTORE - American Express Global Business Travel, indicates that Iberia, member of the IAG Group and of the OneWorld alliance, will pull out of destination Luanda effective 01st of June, i.e. in less than a month from now.

It could not be confirmed if the current massive Yellow Fever outbreak in the country has much do to with this sudden decision or if the general downturn of the Angolan economy, which largely depends on oil exports, is responsible for this development.

Other airlines have also confirmed that business has taken a turn to the worse. Brussels Airlines, one of the more recent market entrants in Angola, continues to serve the destination from Brussels.

In a related development was it also confirmed that Brussels Airlines has suffered a 19 percent passenger loss following the bombing at Zaventem and the subsequent closure of the airport.

While flight operations were shifted to Liege, Antwerp, Frankfurt and Zurich did these changes have an impact on demand for air travel with Brussels Airlines, though the patterns has since been reversed and numbers are coming near to last year's figures once more.

In East Africa does Brussels Airlines serve Kigali and Entebbe five times a week and Bujumbura once a week.

UGANDA: Brussels Airlines Introduces 5th Weekly Flights To Entebbe

Only weeks after given a fourth weekly flight between Brussels and Entebbe, when as a result of the near total economic collapse of Burundi one of the two Bujumbura flights was shifted to Uganda, has Brussels Airlines just announced the addition of a fifth flight effective 28th of March.

While flight SN471 will operate every Monday and Wednesday, leaving Brussels at 10.25hrs local time and arriving in Entebbe at 19.35hrs local time, will flight SN469 operate every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday on the same timings.

The route will be served with an Airbus A330-200 in a Business / Economy two class cabin layout. The five flights combine Entebbe with Kigali enroute back to Brussels.

The upping of frequencies is a sign of sustained demand for seats on Brussels Airlines which has defied the trend of lower passenger numbers out of Entebbe experienced by several airlines, resulting in the cutting of flights – as reported yesterday by FlyDubai from previously five to just three – or a reported shift to smaller aircraft. ‘Savoir Vivre’ in the air has clearly found plenty of friends in Uganda, and Rwanda for that matter, from where national airline RwandAir codeshares the service with Brussels Airlines to the European capital.

Convenient connections for Ugandans via Brussels to London and other UK destinations, but also across all of Europe, is supplemented by three key North American cities, Washington DC during the summer schedule and New York and new destination Toronto in Canada year round.

Towards this end has the airline acquired additional Airbus A330 aircraft while now also progressively retiring their AVRO fleet and replacing it with new Airbus A320’s.

RWANDA: Rwanda Begs For Tourists From The Netherlands

Rwandan tour operators and hoteliers, together with a team from the Rwanda Development Board, are heading to The Netherlands today to attend the 2016 edition of the Utrecht-based Vakantie Beurs, a five-day event showcasing tourism destinations to the Dutch.

Kigali, connected with Europe by both Brussels Airlines and KLM, is often the starting point for a safari to track mountain gorillas, visit the Akagera National Park or hike into and across the Nyungwe Forest National Park, made famous through the first ever canopy walk in one of East Africa’s primeval rain forests.

The format of the tourism trade fair this year is a combination of a dedicated day for the travel trade and the rest of the show for consumers to stroll through the halls and see what the various destinations have in store for them.

Greg Bakunzi, owner of both Amahoro Tours and the Red Rock Cultural Centre outside Musanze, is among the Rwandans attending the show and expressed his hope that the trip will pay off through additional business. He in particular praised the single tourist Visa for the NCIP [Northern Corridor Integration Projects] countries of Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya when he said: ‘Tourists can now book three countries on one Visa’.

The Rwanda Development Board’s Tourism Department has for the past several years attended this trade show, the first of the major tourism fairs in Europe and the nonstop flights by KLM between Amsterdam and Kigali have facilitated Dutch visitors with easy access by air, as have flights by Brussels Airlines, Kenya Airways and other carriers flying out of Holland to Eastern Africa.

The expansion of Kigali’s international airport has made the facility more user friendly for passengers and the ongoing construction of a separate taxiway will cater for additional flights when complete.

Rwanda, in order to encourage fan travel for the upcoming Africa Nation Championship, has waived Visa fees for the 15 countries which qualified for this continental football event. The waiver, saving each individual at least 30 US Dollars, covers teams, team management, fans and CAF officials including referees.

This is a novel way of attracting more fans to accompany their teams and should serve as a reminder for other countries hosting major sporting events to take a leaf from Rwanda and copy such proactive innovations.

BELIGUIM: Brussels Airlines Adds Thessaloniki Service In S16

brussels airlines in summer 2016 season is adding new seasonal service to Greece, as it launches 2 weekly Brussels – Thessaloniki operation. This seasonal operation will begin from 01MAY16, with Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft.

SN3231 BRU0640 – 1030SKG 320 7
SN3231 BRU0915 – 1305SKG 319 4

SN3232 SKG1120 – 1325BRU 320 7
SN3232 SKG1355 – 1600BRU 319 4

Note certain dates on Day 7 operates with Airbus A319 instead of A320.

LIBERIA: Brussels Airlines Doubles Flight Frequencies To Monrovia And Freetown

The airline wants to support the economic recovery of the region-Brussels Airlines will double its flights to Freetown (Sierra Leone) and Monrovia (Liberia). From 8 September, the two West African countries were connected to Brussels Airport four times instead of twice a week. “We have not turned our backs on these two countries during the Ebola outbreak and we will fully support them in their economic recovery”, says Brussels Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Lars Redeligx who spent the past few days visiting Sierra Leone to monitor the situation firsthand.

Liberia was declared Ebola-free a few months ago, while the number of new contaminations in Sierra Leone is declining. Both countries are preparing for their economic recovery and Brussels Airlines would like to support this recovery by increasing its flight offer and offering more connections between the two countries and the rest of the world.

Four flights a week
As from 8 September, the flight frequencies to Sierra Leone and Monrovia doubled, from two to four times a week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday), offering much more flexibility and choice for passengers as well as freight. All flights can be combined with other Brussels Airlines destinations from Brussels Airport to several other destinations in France, the UK, Germany, Swiss, Italy, Scandinavia and the US.

Supporting the economic recovery
“This is an important investment of Brussels Airlines in the accessibility of both countries, which is absolutely indispensable now that the region is working hard on its economic revival”, says Lars Redeligx. “As the only European carrier we have never ceased to operate flights to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea during the Ebola crisis and have transported more than 80,000 passengers and 2,000 tons of freight to the region, most of which were humanitarian aid supplies.”

The three Ebola stricken countries are doing everything in their power to get back on track as soon as possible, since the Ebola epidemic has not only disrupted the lives of its inhabitants, but it has also caused major economic damage. “During our visits to the countries we have we have witnessed firsthand the professionalism with which the local authorities and aid organizations are handling the crisis. We are happy that as an airline, we too can contribute and we have received much recognition and gratitude, which I want to share with our crews and ground staff who have made it possible for us to conitnue our operations.

After having expanded our flight schedule to Guinea a few weeks ago, we look forward to also operate more flights again to Sierra Leone and Monrovia. Good flight connections are a must to make the development of both countries possible. We also actively continue to pursue our “Africa Is Not Ebola” awareness campaign and we are plan an economic mission to the region later this year, together with NGO’s and other companies.

EU Commission Seeks Airline Pacts In Gulf To Stop Subsidies

The European Union's transport chief sought more leverage to fight alleged unfair subsidies to airlines based in the Persian Gulf in a bid to create a "level playing field" for EU flag carriers.

European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc asked EU governments for authority to negotiate aviation agreements with the six countries that belong to the Gulf Cooperation Council. Curbing any market-distorting aid to operators such as Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways would be a goal of the negotiations.

Bulc's request is part of a European aviation package that also seeks deals with China, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Mexico, Turkey and Armenia; foresees guidelines on the control of EU airlines; and proposes a regulatory framework for the use of drones. The targeted accords with the Persian Gulf states are a priority because countries such as the United Arab Emirates have fast-growing aviation markets and the issue of subsidies in the GCC has become politically sensitive in Europe.

"While the additional connections provided by the Gulf airlines are welcome, there are concerns regarding the conditions under which they operate," the European Commission said in a statement about the package on Monday in Brussels. "The right way forward" is "to bridge the interests of both sides by creating conditions that will allow further market development and growth based on common rules and transparency."

The commission, the 28-nation EU's regulatory arm, is preparing for a bigger battle over state aid to Gulf-based airlines after national governments in Europe joined European carriers such as Air France-KLM Group and Deutsche Lufthansa in raising the issue.

France and Germany voiced concerns about foreign subsidies earlier this year at an EU meeting where transport ministers debated global aviation competition. The chief executive officers of several European airlines, including Air France-KLM and Lufthansa, wrote a letter to Bulc in December 2014 urging her to step up efforts to tackle government support for Gulf rivals.

Total seats on scheduled flights between the EU and the GCC nations have more than tripled over the past decade to 39 million this year, the commission said on Monday. The UAE has more direct traffic with the EU than China, India and Japan combined, according to the commission.

Bulc said she wants EU governments to give her "open and dynamic" mandates to negotiate aviation agreements with the GCC, which also includes Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. The deals being sought are dubbed "comprehensive" because, in addition to provisions on "fair competition," they would cover such areas as market access, investment and technologies for air-traffic management.

At a press conference, Bulc refused to be drawn on the question of subsidies in the Persian Gulf.

"I am very careful about that," she said. "I don't want to generalize in this matter. And that's exactly why we are proposing comprehensive bilateral agreements where fair competition is one of the clauses. We really want to address it in a very comprehensive level."

As part of any accords, she said the EU would be prepared to ease its 49 percent limit on foreign ownership of airlines based in the bloc in return for reciprocal rights abroad for European companies. Etihad Airways has a 49 percent stake in Alitalia and a 29 percent holding in Air Berlin.

An existing EU aviation agreement with the United States has failed to abolish foreign-ownership curbs because of American defense of the country's 25 percent limit on voting equity, while a European pact with Canada foresees the scrapping of control restrictions once the Canadian government takes the necessary steps.

For investors in countries that have no derogation from the EU's limit on foreign ownership of carriers, the aviation package promises "interpretative guidelines" at a later stage on the enforcement of the cap. The limit is enshrined in a 2008 European law requiring that EU states and/or nationals own more than 50 percent of any airline based in the bloc and "effectively control" it.

In their letter to Bulc a year ago, the group of European airline CEOs also pressed her to ensure that foreign investments in EU-based airlines "strictly comply" with the 2008 legislation. In addition to the heads of Air France-KLM and Lufthansa, the letter was signed by the CEOs of three Lufthansa units: Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Swiss International Air Lines.

The goal of the planned guidelines is to "bring more legal certainty for airlines and investors," Bulc said on Monday.

GERMANY: Lufthansa Strike, 929 Flights Cancelled,113.000 Passengers Affected

The Independent Flight Attendant’s Organization (UFO) has announced strike action for all Lufthansa flights from/ to Frankfurt and Dusseldorf on Monday, 9.11.2015 between 4.30 and 23.00 and flights from/to Munich between 4.30 and 00.00.

Flights operated by Lufthansa CityLine, Germanwings, Eurowings, Air Dolomiti, Austrian Airlines, SWISS and Brussels Airlines are not affected by potential strike actions and will therefore run as planned.

Lufthansa will do its utmost to keep the effects of a strike to a minimum and to inform passengers as soon as possible. For that reason, Lufthansa requests all passengers early on to stay up-to-date by checking the flight status on LH.com.

On Monday, out of the approximately 3.000 planned connections about 929 continental and intercontinental flights had to be cancelled. Affected by these cancellations are in total approximately 113.000 passengers.

Lufthansa did publish a special timetable. Nearly all continental and intercontinental flights had to be cancelled. Exceptions are a few flights between Munich and Frankfurt to London Heathrow, Dublin, Ashgabat, Delhi, Hongkong and Tokio.

Flights from Lufthansa CityLine, Germanwings, Eurowings, Air Dolomiti, Austrian Airlines, SWISS and Brussels Airlines are not affected by the strike actions and will therefore operate as planned.

Lufthansa regrets any inconveniences caused by the strike.

GERMANY: Lufthansa Cabin Crew Strike To Cost Airline Greatly

Cabin crews with German airline Lufthansa have begun a week of strikes with a nine-hour walkout in Frankfurt and Dusseldorf after talks with the airline broke down over retirement terms.

Flight attendants are stopping work at the two airports from 2pm-11pm on Friday, and for 17 hours on Saturday from 6am.

The halt in Frankfurt on Saturday is limited to services on single-aisle Airbus A320-series and Boeing 737 planes, according to the union UFO.

Irish fans travelling to Bosnia with the airline for next Friday’s European Championships play-off fixture have been urged to make contact with officials.

Lufthansa said it had cancelled 290 flights planned for Friday including 15 long-haul departures, which are typically more profitable for carriers. It affected around 37,500 passengers. Eight long-haul flights would still take off, it said.

More strike action can be expected on Saturday at Frankfurt, but Lufthansa’s other main hub in Munich will not be subject to walkouts until after Sunday, given school holidays in that region.

Lufthansa Group airlines Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Germanwings, Eurowings, Brussels Airlines, Air Dolomiti and Cityline will not be affected by the strike. That means that overall, the airlines group can carry out 90 percent of the 3,000 flights it typically operates on a Friday.

The walkout comes after Lufthansa and the union failed to reach an agreement in a long-running row over early retirement benefits and pensions.

Lufthansa is trying to negotiate with various staff groups to bring down pension costs as part of a savings drive to allow it to better compete with low-cost rivals and leaner Gulf carriers.

Should Lufthansa management not make concessions, the union will carry out a threat to stage more walkouts until November 13th, it said.

“We regret this course of action, but we see no alternative,” union head Nicoley Baublies said.

Lufthansa shares were up almost three per cent on Friday, nearly recovering from Thursday, when they closed down 4 per cent after the union confirmed it would strike.

Equinet analyst Jochen Rothenbacher said strike costs could total €20 million ($21 million) a day, depending on the number of cancellations, giving a total of around €140 million should the union strike on seven days, as threatened.

Strikes by pilots have already cost Lufthansa €130 million so far this year.

BELGIUM: Brussels Airlines Launches Service To Ghana And Spain

Brussels Airlines commenced services between Brussels and Accra on 26 October. The 5,052-kilometre sector will operate four times weekly facing no direct competition. Cutting the cake and ribbon in Brussels are: Yaw Bimpong, Ambassador for Ghana to Belgium; Arnaud Feist, Brussels Airport CEO; and Brussels Airlines CEO, Bernard Gustin.

Brussels Airlines commenced services between Brussels (BRU) and Accra (ACC) on 26 October.

The 5,052-kilometre sector will operate four times weekly using the Star Alliance member’s A330-200s, and faces no direct competition from any incumbent carriers.

The previous day, the airline started services from the Belgian capital to Tenerife South (TFS). The 3,093-kilometre link to the Canary Island airport will operate twice-weekly according to OAG Schedules Analyser data, facing direct competition from Jetairfly and Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium which operate a combined 17 weekly flights. The link to the Spanish island will be flown utilising the airline’s A320s. Vote for Brussels to Accra’s route launch cake.

SWEDEN: SAS Starts Stansted Service

SAS commenced services between Gothenburg and London Stansted on 26 October.

The 999-kilometre sector will be operated by the Star Alliance member’s 737-600s on a daily basis and replaces the airline’s operations between the Swedish city and London Heathrow.

SAS commenced services from Gothenburg (GOT) to London Stansted (STN) and Brussels (BRU) on 26 October. The 999-kilometre service to London’s third busiest airport will operate daily while services on the 903-kilometre link to the Belgian capital will operate six times weekly.

Both routes will be flown by the Star Alliance member’s 737-600s and both will also face direct competition. Stansted services will compete against Ryanair which operates 18 weekly flights while Brussels Airlines is the incumbent carrier on services to Brussels, with it also operating 18 weekly flights.

However, services to Belgium are in partnership as both SAS and Brussels Airlines are part of Star Alliance.

UNITED KINGDOM: Five Flights Will Run From Belfast City Airport To Brussels Each Week

Belgium's national airline is to begin a new flight between Brussels and George Best Belfast City Airport.

Starting next March, Brussels Airlines will operate the service five times a week.

The announcement has been welcomed by Northern Ireland business leaders and tourism officials.

The route was previously offered from Belfast International, but stopped many years ago.

The new flights will operate on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

"On a weekly basis we will offer close to 1,000 seats on the route," Brussels Airlines chief commercial officer, Lars Redeligx said.

"Belfast is an important touristic, administrative and economic destination."

The airline is part of the Lufthansa Group.