THAI had to ground its fleet of Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner jets for a few weeks due to troubles with jet engines made by Rolls-Royce. Four of the 6 aircraft remain on the tarmac at Suvarnabhumi airport while 2 of them are back in service after issues related to turbine blades in the Trent-1000 engine, which THAI says may affect flight safety. The grounding began several weeks ago, and have impacted THAI flights normally served by the mid-sized long-haul aircraft such as those routes to Western Australia, Dubai, parts of Japan and neighbouring countries, industry sources said Wednesday. THAI acting president Usanee Sangsingkeo said the situation with the Rolls-Royce engines at the carrier should improve starting next month and return to normal operations in September. <br/>
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United Airlines is boosting its long-haul service from San Francisco (SFO) and New York/Newark (EWR) with three additional flights, as the carrier continues to enter into service its first group of Boeing 777-300ERs delivered since Dec 2016. The new flights include SFO to Beijing (PEK) from Sept 7; SFO to Frankfurt (FRA) from Oct 5 and EWR to Tokyo Narita (NRT) from Oct 28. United will begin 777-300ER service between SFO and Taipei (TPE) from Aug1. The airline is already flying its 777-300ERS on routes between SFO and Hong Kong (HKG); SFO and Tokyo Narita (NRT); and EWR and Tel Aviv (TLV). United’s initial 777-300ER order comprised 14 aircraft; as of May 31, the airline has taken delivery of 9. United said it expects to place all 14 into service by the end of 2017. <br/>
Lufthansa and Frankfurt Airport operator Fraport have agreed on an initial deal for short-term cost savings, which aims to create conditions for Lufthansa’s further growth at the airport. Both companies are looking to improve utilisation of their existing infrastructure and reduce costs by improving the advance planning of passenger traffic, Fraport said. There will also be more intense coordination between the two companies concerning customer relations to optimise services in the non-aviation sector. To promote continued growth at Frankfurt Airport in 2018, Fraport said it has no plans to increase airport charges for the coming year. Thus, the existing charges regulation will continue to be valid. <br/>