Pilots at Lufthansa are set to resume their strike this week after hastily arranged talks with the airline failed to make any progress towards resolving an increasingly bitter industrial dispute. The Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union said late Sunday that short-haul pilots would strike all day Tuesday and that both short- and long-haul pilots would walk out Wednesday. Flights departing from Germany would be affected. Jörg Handwerg, from Vereinigung Cockpit, said that the strike, which ran for four days last week before being broken off, was being resumed because Lufthansa had not made an offer “which could form the basis of negotiations”. Lufthansa said that it was “very disappointed” that the union had decided to launch further strikes. “The union is sticking with demands that go far beyond what other groups have demanded. That is not acceptable,” the airline said. Lufthansa pilots initially went on strike Wednesday for 24 hours, in what was their first walkout this year but their 14th since 2014. They subsequently prolonged the strike three times, before saying that they would not strike Sunday. In an effort to break the deadlock, the airline offered pilots on Friday a pay rise of 4.4% in two phases this year and next, and a one-off payment worth 1.8 months’ salary. As part of the deal, Lufthansa also wanted pilots to switch from a defined benefit to a defined contribution pension plan. Vereinigung Cockpit swiftly rejected the offer as “old wine in new bottles”, pointing out that the airline had made a similar offer two months earlier. It reiterated it would not accept any deal in which salary increases were cancelled out by savings elsewhere. As a result of the industrial action, Lufthansa was forced to cancel almost 2,800 flights, or almost a quarter of its schedule over the four-day period last week, disrupting the travel plans of about 350,000 passengers. The union is demanding a pay increase of 3.7% a year backdated to 2012, when the previous wage agreement ended, which equates to an overall increase of almost 20%. <br/>
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United says a flight bound for Hong Kong from Chicago was diverted near Tokyo after 12 hours because of an "unruly passenger." Spokesman Charles Hobart said Sunday that Flight 895 left O'Hare International Airport for China after 2 p.m. Saturday. The plane instead landed at Narita, which is one of Tokyo's main airports. No injuries were reported. He says 241 passengers and 15 crew members were aboard. Hobart says law enforcement met the aircraft in Japan, but he declined to offer further details. Hobart says the flight has departed from Japan and is expected in Hong Kong.<br/>
Air New Zealand has said it will notify the Environment Court Friday seeking representation at the pending hearings of the resource consent application for the proposed $35m Wellington Airport runway extension. Chief strategy, networks and alliances officer Stephen Jones said while the airline was usually supportive of airport developments, the Wellington proposal has “no customers and no business case”, contains serious analytical flaws, and has been developed without the benefit of Air NZ's knowledge of route development. Air New Zealand is submitting a Section 274 notice to the court ahead the 17:00 deadline so it can put its case on the likely usage by airlines and the proposed economic benefits of the runway extension. A study commissioned by the lobby group for international airlines, including Air New Zealand, concluded the proposal fails on the grounds that lower North Island and South Island travellers are already flying to long-haul destinations through Auckland or Christchurch and the region is not a tourist magnet. The study by Australian-based Ailevon Pacific Aviation Consultants for the Board of Airline Representatives in New Zealand, said the likelihood of airlines establishing new long-haul services to the capital was "extremely remote, implausible at best". Two-thirds of 700 public submissions also opposed the project.<br/>