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Lufthansa pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit has threatened strikes in support of a long-running pay dispute. VC said it will give 24 hours notice of any strike action after the failure of talks with Lufthansa management. The pilots’ union wants a 3.66% average pay increase for the last five years. VC said Lufthansa has not increased pilot pay during that period and that the airline had made E5b profit during that time. Lufthansa said the strike call was “incomprehensible” and had offered mediation as a way forward. VC rejected a Lufthansa offer in September of a one-off payment and a 4.4% pay rise.<br/>

Air New Zealand has pipped Qantas and Singapore Airlines to be named airline of the year for the fourth year running. AirlineRatings.com said Air New Zealand was being honoured for its record-breaking financial performance, award-winning inflight innovations, operational safety, environmental leadership and motivation of its staff. "These factors have stamped the airline as an industry trendsetter," the announcement said. The website's Airline Excellence Awards programme combines international industry and government audits, as well as key criteria including fleet age, passenger review ratings, profitability, investment rating and key product offerings, to come up with the result. "In our objective analysis Air New Zealand came out number one in virtually all of our audit criteria, which is an exceptional performance," AirlineRatings.com editor-in-chief Geoffrey Thomas said. Air New Zealand managed to edge out Australian rival Qantas in the overall ranking, which was awarded the titles of best domestic airline service, best catering and best lounges. Virgin Australia was named the best airline for cabin crew service and best business class for its new business class seat. Airline Ratings' list differed significantly from the other major airline ratings awards from Skytrax, which put Emirates at number one and Qatar Airways at number two. Singapore Airlines was third and Cathay Pacific fourth in both lists.<br/>

THAI is likely to miss its annual cost-reduction target, but will swing to a profit for 2016 after three straight years of losses due to lower fuel costs, a top company executive said Monday. The carrier is one of several state-controlled firms undergoing reform in the country since the military seized power in May 2014. Over the past two years, it has cut unprofitable routes, while a plunge in oil priceshas provided it a tailwind by lowering its single-biggest expense - jet fuel. However, it has fallen short of its target to cut expenses by 10 percent for the year as "cost reduction plans have not been fully implemented", CFO Narongchai Wongthanavimok said. The company's total operating expenses fell by 7.9% over the first nine months of the year, he said. Hit by fierce competition and a weak economy, Thai Airways has reported annual losses since 2013. But the outlook has improved this year, underpinned by restructuring and lower fuel costs. Last week, the carrier posted Q3 results, which showed losses narrowing from year-ago levels. THAI expects a profit in Q4 as more people travel during the holiday season, Narongchai said. This is in line with what analysts have been expecting.<br/>

United and American airlines are introducing quicker, more efficient security lanes at O'Hare International Airport, with the goal of reducing the type of bottlenecks that caused hundreds of travelers to miss flights this spring. American Airlines has been sending passengers through two automated lanes at one of its Terminal 3 security checkpoints for about a week. United Airlines' three lanes, at a Terminal 1 checkpoint for TSA PreCheck customers, opened Monday. The new lanes let up to five passengers at a time put luggage in bins for screening, rather than the single-file line where efficient travelers were thwarted by slower passengers. A conveyor system automatically diverts bags in need of extra screening without halting the line — and separates flagged bags with possible weapons from those with oversized containers of shampoo. The system also takes a photo of each bag's exterior that is linked to the X-ray of its contents and a unique radio frequency identification tag on its bin, to make it easier for agents to keep track of bags, and has a parallel conveyor belt that automatically brings empty bins back to the front of the line, similar to the ball return at a bowling alley. Ferrying empty luggage bins back to the front of the line has been a job of TSA agents. The TSA has estimated the system cuts the time passengers spend in screening by about 30%. United has seen "up to 100% improvement" in automated lanes it installed last month in Los Angeles, said John Slater, VP of United's O'Hare hub.<br/>