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Lufthansa outlined plans for 4% capacity growth in 2017, not including recent deals to expand Eurowings, as Europe's airlines engage in a race for customers against a backdrop of rising fuel prices. The carrier said in an investor presentation Friday that its network airlines - Lufthansa, Austrian and SWISS - would grow the number of seats on offer by 3%, while Eurowings would grow 19%. Including recent deals to lease 38 planes and crew from Air Berlin plus take over Brussels Airlines, group growth would be a reported 12.5%, according to the slides. UBS earlier downgraded Lufthansa shares to "sell" from "neutral", saying it was concerned that yields would remain negative in 2017, as European carriers continue to add seats despite likely being unable to pass on increased fuel costs to passengers. <br/>

United Airlines is pulling back on its non-stop service between Auckland and San Francisco, instead making it a seasonal route. The airline confirmed Saturday that Auckland to San Francisco flights will be unavailable between April 18 and Oct 30 this year, and passengers are being encouraged to fly the route on Air NZ. "This change is in response to seasonal variations, which will also see United Airlines adding an additional 3 flights per week starting Dec 18, 2017 after resuming its daily Auckland to San Francisco services Oct 31, 2017. This will increase services to a total of 10 United's flights per week during the high seasonal demand period," United Airlines said. The United route came to New Zealand last July as Air NZ sought to deepen its partner relationship with the airline. <br/>