Belgium’s prime minister lashed out at KLM Airlines for offering free train tickets to Amsterdam to lure passengers away from the bomb-crippled Brussels airport. A month after the Brussels terrorist attacks, prime minister Charles Michel said the freebies touted in Belgian radio commercials play on unjustified fears over security at Belgium’s main air gateway. “I don’t see that as fair play, I don’t see it as appropriate,” Michel said Thursday. “I deplore this initiative.” KLM said it has offered the train-to-the-plane package for years and decided on this year’s publicity campaign because it has had to cancel 3 of its 5 daily flights from Brussels to Amsterdam. “Our Belgian customers should be able to fly,” said a KLM spokeswoman. “We have a really good product for Belgian customers to reach Schiphol by train.” <br/>
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Emirates’ CCO Thierry Antinori declined an offer to be CE at Air France-KLM Group, saying he preferred to stay with the Dubai-based airline. "I’ve been contacted but I’m not interested," Antinori said. "If I stay in the airline industry…the best possibility to work is for this brand.” Air France-KLM is looking to replace CE Alexandre De Juniac, who said this month he was leaving after almost 3 years of wrangling with pilots over costs. De Juniac is set to leave by Aug 1 to run IATA. The airline must press on with restructuring plans if it’s to compete with LCCs in Europe and Gulf operators led by Emirates on long-haul routes, De Juniac said after announcing his exit. Antinori began his career in the airline industry with Air France and later joined Lufthansa before signing on with Emirates in 2011. <br/>
China Eastern Airlines has signed a 1 year extension of its fleet management deal with GE Avionics that will cover data collection and data mining from its 270-strong fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft. The GE system will help maintain optimum operational efficiency and fuel savings for the carrier by analysing operational data to identify potential cost savings. China Eastern said the agreement would also help improve its environmental performance. The agreement covers cooperation on data analysis of the airline's fleet of Airbus A320 and A330 aircraft as well as its Boeing 737 and 777 models. The two companies would continue their existing “innovative cooperation model” and extend research on flight operation data to generate value for the carrier’s efficiency, China Eastern said. <br/>