Pay talks between Lufthansa management and its pilots' union have ended without the two sides reaching a deal, and the next step is for the mediator to propose a solution to the long-running row, the Vereinigung Cockpit union said Tuesday. The two sides held 2 weeks of talks, led by mediator Gunter Pleuger, in a bid to resolve a long-running row over pay contracts dating back to 2012 for around 5,400 Lufthansa pilots. "Despite intensive discussions, an agreement could not be reached," VC said, adding Pleuger would make a recommendation by Feb 10. The two sides will then discuss how to respond to the recommendation. Lufthansa's pilots have walked out 15 times since early 2014 over dispute with management on topics including pay and early retirement, costing the carrier hundreds of millions of euros in lost profits. <br/>
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LOT will lease 3 Boeing 787-9s from US-based Aviation Capital Group to further develop its long-haul fleet. The carrier will take delivery of the first aircraft in March 2018, which will be used on trunk routes from Warsaw to New York JFK and Chicago O’Hare. The 294-passenger 787-9s—LOT’s largest aircraft—will be configured for 3 classes, featuring 24 seats in business, 21 in premium and 249 in economy class. The new aircraft will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. Four years ago, LOT became the first airline in Europe to operate 787s; it currently operates 6 787-8s and expects to take delivery of another 2 in July and August. LOT said in comparison to the -8, the -9 offers more capacity and lower per-seat operating costs. <br/>
Northern Ireland is losing its direct air connection with Brussels. Brussels Airlines began the service from George Best Belfast City Airport last March but said it would cease the 5-times-a-week service soon. The service is said to have been struggling. When it was launched, Invest NI said the route was "strategically important" for exporters. The route was previously offered from Belfast International but had ceased. Brussels Airlines said: "We stop flying the route at the end of March, as it did not perform as we had anticipated. The airline said it reviewed its route network on a regular basis. "Route results, route potential and optimal fleet utilisation are, amongst others, some main drivers of these reviews," the airline added. "In this context we have decided to suspend our Belfast-Brussels route from the summer season onwards. <br/>
The govt should privatise Air India, according to the Economic Survey 2017, which was presented in Parliament Tuesday. The survey said while the private sector has a major presence in civil aviation, telecommunications, and financial services, and this has served to reduce the share of public sector undertakings, the PSUs have not exited these segments. “The most well-known example is the difficulty of privatising public enterprises, even for firms where economists have made strong arguments that they belong in the private sector,” the survey said. Air India, the only public sector airline in the country, was the focus of the survey in the sector. “Consider the civil aviation sector. Defying history, there is still the commitment to make the perennially unprofitable public sector airline “world class,” the survey said. <br/>