Lufthansa has confirmed an incident involving a near-miss between an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), or drone, and a Lufthansa Airbus A321 on approach to Munich Airport Aug. 4. “We can confirm a disorder involving one of our aircraft and an object when on approach to Munich. Nothing happened; however, a drone has no place there. As the investigation is ongoing, I can’t give any further information at the moment,” a Lufthansa spokesperson said. The Lufthansa A321 was operating as scheduled service flight LH116 between Frankfurt and Munich with 108 passengers and six crew on board. According to a statement from the Upper Bavaria Police Department-North, the pilot realized the UAV was near the aircraft on approach, descending through flight level 1,700 m near the Bavarian village of Schwabhausen at 6:58 p.m. local time. A so-called quadrocopter drone passed the A321at same height, about 10 off the right-hand wing tip. The aircraft landed safely, with no injuries or damage.<br/>
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Air New Zealand has been rated one of the world's top three airlines by TripAdvisor. The travel review website recently gave its users the option of rating their flight as well as accommodation. Britain's Telegraph newspaper drilled down into the numbers, ignoring the airlines that had received fewer than 400 TripAdvisor reviews to leave a total of 66 carriers. Of those 66, 16 had an average rating of 4.5 stars out of five. Dubai-based Emirates came out on top, with 67.5 per cent of its reviews being five-star. Singapore Airlines came second (64.2 per cent), followed by Air New Zealand, with 60.6 per cent. "The presence of Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand at the top of the table will come as no surprise - they are regularly rated among the world's best airlines in the annual Telegraph Travel Awards," the Telegraph wrote. Jetstar, meanwhile, was rated amongst the worst carriers. Story has full list.<br/>
Mineta San Jose International Airport officials announced Monday that United will offer nonstop flights from San Jose to both Chicago and Newark, New Jersey starting in March. Beginning March 9, United will offer two daily flights from San Jose to Chicago O’Hare International Airport and one daily flight to Newark Liberty International Airport, airport officials said. The destinations were chosen because they are highly requested by business and leisure travellers. Additionally, the Newark airport serves as United’s hub in the New York area, while the Chicago airport serves as United’s hometown hub, airport officials said. The flights will use a Boeing 737-800 aircraft that can seat 166 people and is equipped with Wi-Fi and in-flight entertainment options, according to airport officials.<br/>