Lufthansa sees no limit to the number of planes and crews it could lease from Air Berlin, its CE told Bild am Sonntag, amid criticism that support for its ailing rival is a stealth takeover attempt. "We already support Air Berlin, in that we have leased 38 planes and set them on our routes. I can imagine, however, that we would expand this cooperation and lease further Air Berlin planes and crew," Carsten Spohr said. "For me, there is no upper limit to this. On the other hand, I do not currently envisage a takeover of the company." Spohr has previously expressed interest in loss-making Air Berlin on condition its debt pile and costs could be reduced. Travel agencies, the German monopoly regulator and rival carrier Ryanair have raised competition concerns over any possible takeover of Air Berlin by Lufthansa. <br/>
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Narendra Modi is just days away from giving the final go-ahead for the govt to sell off Air India, according to officials in Delhi. People involved in the talks have said that cabinet ministers will meet to discuss the plans and give their final approval possibly as early as this week. It will signal the beginning of the end of nearly 70 years of public ownership of the airline, which led Asia into the age of the jet engine but is now loss making and highly indebted. Jayant Sinha, the aviation minister, said: “Air India has been and should be a great global airline…The transformation process that we have under way for Air India includes governance, operating performance fleet acquisition and ownership changes. We believe these will position Air India and the Indian aviation industry well for the future.” <br/>
THAI plans to modernise its fleet by replacing almost 30 older aircraft over the next 5 years, adding to the climbing demand for planes in Asia. The airline is seeking new generation aircraft offering greater comfort and fuel efficiency, and is talking with both Airbus and Boeing, chairman Areepong Bhoocha-Oom said. "The portfolio of our airline will have new aircraft almost 100%," Areepong said. It’s the right step for THAI partly because fuel costs could be volatile in future even though they are low currently, he said. THAI is trying to turn around performance after posting losses in 3 of the past 4 years. The company’s shares have suffered a long-term decline, sliding about 70% from a high in 1999. THAI presently has a 100-strong fleet and will seek Cabinet approval for the plane replacement plan by the end of July. <br/>
United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines have all bragged in recent times of the tens of millions of dollars they are investing in enhancing the customer experience. But all of that didn't matter, apparently, when Skytrax announced its 2017 World Airline Awards at the Paris Air Show Tuesday. All four of the largest US-based carriers lost out to Air Canada in the Best Airline in North America category. Noted Air Canada CE Calin Rovinescu: "This award is a significant milestone in the transformation of Air Canada into one of the world's leading carriers and is all the more meaningful given the increased competition in our industry." Air Canada said it has spent US$10b since 2010 to elevate the travel experience for passengers flying the airline. <br/>