Ryanair has claimed to EU competition regulators that there is a conspiracy between the German govt and Lufthansa to carve up insolvent Air Berlin. The German govt loaned Air Berlin E150m Tuesday after the loss of shareholder Etihad’s backing forced it to file for insolvency and it emerged that Lufthansa was bidding for parts of its business. Ryanair complained formally to the EC and Germany’s competition regulator, the Bundeskartellampt, that the govt and Lufthansa were conspiring to carve up Air Berlin while excluding competitors and ignoring anti-trust and state aid rules. “This manufactured insolvency is clearly being set up to allow Lufthansa to take over a debt-free Air Berlin, which will be in breach of all known German and EU competition rules,” the airline said. <br/>
unaligned
Spirit Airlines said it continues to make progress on collective bargaining talks as ALPA announced Monday it would ask 1,600 unionised pilots if they want to strike over the negotiations. A spokesman for the airline said the vote, starting Aug 21 and closing Sept 8, "will have no impact" on the company's operations. "This resolution allows union members to give their Master Executive Council the authority to call a strike," the spokesman said. "A strike can only be called if negotiations break down and, the federal govt releases the two sides from mediation and after a subsequent 30-day cooling off period." Spirit said the majority of provisions have already been agreed to. "We remain committed to reaching an agreement as quickly as possible," the airline said. <br/>
Southwest Airlines said it is “working feverishly” to resolve a technical issue that is causing many of its highest-tier frequent flyers to receive low-status boarding positions. The problem comes as the airline works to resolve a handful of issues with the new Amadeus reservation system it transitioned to in May. Southwest chairman and CE Gary Kelly has characterised the new system and its rollout as an overall success, but has also acknowledged “break-in issues” that have specifically affected business-select fares that give passengers priority boarding status. The current issue, which has seen numerous passengers complaining on social media, involves A-list passengers in recent days have been assigned B or C group boarding status, meaning they may be left choosing among middle seats on crowded aircraft. <br/>
Iran Air will begin the decision-making process on the long list of bids submitted by Iranian and foreign parties to finance multi-billion dollar orders the carrier has placed with major world planemakers within a month, says Iran Air’s new CE Farzaneh Sharafbafi. Iran Air has signed firm contracts with Boeing and Airbus, as well as with ATR to buy a total of 200 planes worth tens of billions of dollars. The airline has received 7 of its ordered planes so far, including 3 Airbus and 4 ATR. The delivery of the rest hinges on provision of financing for the purchases. Although a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers led to removal of sanctions the following year, big European banks have since been shying away from Iranian deals due to fear of potential US penalty amid uncertainty in the policies of president Donald Trump. <br/>
Azul Brazilian Airlines will add 2 more Brazil-Florida routes in December and has reached an expanded codeshare agreement with JetBlue Airways. Azul currently serves both Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, Florida daily from its São Paulo base and Orlando from Recife, Brazil. In December, it will launch daily Airbus A330 flights between Belo Horizonte, Brazil and Orlando and daily A320neo flights between Belem, Brazil and Fort Lauderdale. Azul’s other long-haul international destination is Lisbon, to which it flies from São Paulo. The growing international network is aimed at connecting Brazilian passengers to Azul’s codeshare partners. Azul and JetBlue had announced an agreement last year to enable Azul codes to be placed on some JetBlue flights, but an Azul spokesperson said the new deal is more expansive. <br/>