Lufthansa's proposal for the carve-up of Air Berlin would see it taking over the insolvent carrier's Austria-based leisure airline Niki and other planes, a source familiar with the negotiations said Thursday. Its proposal is in the low hundreds of millions of euros, the person said. In total, it wants to take on up to 90 planes, which would include the 38 crewed aircraft Lufthansa already leases from Air Berlin, the source said. Lufthansa declined to comment.<br/>
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Thomas Cook's German leisure airline Condor and Lufthansa are interested in taking on a number of planes from insolvent Air Berlin, sources familiar with the negotiations said Thursday. The race is on for interested parties to agree a deal for parts of Air Berlin's business, including planes and crew, which would bring access to take-off and landing slots at airports such as Duesseldorf, Berlin Tegel, Munich and Hamburg. Condor is "in the process of preparing a concrete offer", one source said, adding Condor was interested in mainly short-haul routes, and also some long-haul ones. Lufthansa, which was first to talk with Air Berlin, on Wednesday said it had presented a term-sheet to the insolvent carrier, setting out its interest in taking over parts of the Air Berlin group. The German flagship carrier's proposal for the carve-up of Air Berlin would see it taking over the insolvent carrier's leisure airline unit Niki and other planes for a sum in the low hundreds of millions of euros, another source said. Those aircraft, up to 90, would include 38 crewed planes Lufthansa already leases from Air Berlin. The source further said a likely deal could be 80 planes for Lufthansa, 24 for Condor and 40 for easyJet.<br/>
What do Brooks Brothers, Carhartt and Tracy Reese have in common? They’re helping shape a new look for United. United confirmed Thursday that it has turned to the two iconic retailers and the high-end fashion designer to help it come up with new uniforms for all 70,000 of its front-line employees. Once the process is completed, there’ll be a new look for United’s customer-facing staff – everyone from pilots and flight attendants to airport gate agents and ramp workers. The carrier has completed more than a dozen employee “road shows” at its hub airports. Workers from across United’s network were invited to come to check out samples from designers and give their feedback about what they want – and do not want – to be included in the new uniforms. United describes it as part of an effort to incorporate employees’ wish-list items from the very beginning. “What we’re trying to do is start fresh and give them something that will meet their needs, says BJ Youngerman, United's senior manager, engagement strategy. The new threads aren’t expected to roll out to workers until 2020, but the carrier says that underscores the efforts it’s taking to get both the fashion and function just right. “What’s crucial,” Youngerman says, is “having employees be a core voice in the decision we make.” United’s effort also comes after its three biggest U.S. rivals – American, Delta and Southwest – have each already rolled out their own new employee uniforms since 2016.<br/>
United is confident that the economics of the Boeing 787-9 aircraft will make its upcoming Los Angeles-Singapore service work. "Los Angeles has been on the horizon for a while, and we feel the 787-9 is the right aircraft, with the right fuel consumption," says Alison Espley, MD for Japan and Pacific sales at United Airlines. "The aircraft is what makes it possible." When asked about payload restrictions given the long distance of the service, Espley said that it may be necessary to "hold some seats" on Singapore-bound services during the northern winter months. She adds, however, that the carrier's San Francisco-Singapore service, which also uses 787-9s, is "performing well." She adds that United expects strong local demand in Singapore for the LA flight, which is timed to provide connections to over 20 US cities. United will launch the LA-Singapore service on 29 October. The Singapore-LA leg, UA37, will be roughly 15 hours, 15 minutes. The LA-Singapore leg, UA38, will be 17 hours, 55 minutes. The 8,700 mile flight, claims United, will the longest flight to or from the United States. The aircraft will carry 252 passengers: 48 in business, 88 in economy plus, and 116 in economy class.<br/>