Air France-KLM Group will enter into talks with an exclusive buyer for its in-flight service unit Servair within the next few weeks, a person familiar with the plan said. The company won’t sell the entire business, said the person, who declined to be identified because the discussions are private. Servair, the world’s third-largest in-flight caterer, was valued at about E300m by analysts in 2012 when the carrier also looked into selling part of the business. A spokesman for Air France-KLM declined to comment. Europe’s biggest airline is seeking to cut costs and raise cash as it seeks to compete with airlines such as Emirates in the international travel market and Ryanair Holdings Plc on shorter routes. The company needs to accelerate its turnaround, CEO Alexandre de Juniac said Thursday after announcing his resignation earlier in the week.<br/>
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Delta is nearing a decision on upgrading its single-aisle fleet as four planemakers bid furiously to win the order, people familiar with the matter said. Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier and Embraer are competing for the sale as the second-largest US carrier seeks to replace its McDonnell Douglas MD-88 workhorse jets for shorter domestic flights, three people said. Delta could make a decision as early as this month, two people said. The stakes are highest for Bombardier, which is still trying to land a marquee US customer for its struggling C Series jetliner. The Delta order would be the first since Ed Bastian was named in February to be the airline’s next CE. The carrier has gained a reputation as a savvy buyer of new and used aircraft under CEO Richard Anderson, who is retiring next month. Delta said in January that it was considering the C Series as the airline phases out some of its smallest jets. <br/>
Czech Airlines plans to launch 2X-weekly Prague-Kazan Airbus A319 service and resume 2X-weekly Prague-Ufa A319 flights from April 27 and 28, respectively, according to Russian authorities. The airline also operates flights from Václav Havel Airport Prague (formerly Prague Ruzyně International Airport) to Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Samara, Yekaterinburg and Rostov-on-Don—as well as flights from Karlovy Vary to Moscow. Czech Airlines is increasing its Russian network despite a continuing decline in international traffic in January and February of this year when international passengers carried by Russian airlines decreased 14.5% year-over-year. In 2015, international traffic for Russian airlines was down 15.8% to 39.5m YOY. The downward trend in international traffic started at the end of 2014 and forced several international carriers—such as Lufthansa, airberlin, Cathay Pacific and easyJet—to cut operations to Russian destinations. In 2014, Czech Airlines ceased flights from Prague to Perm, which had been launched just a year before, and Nizhny Novgorod. <br/>