Lufthansa’s supervisory board approved plans to invest E1b in up to 61 additional planes to expand its Eurowings budget business after German rival Air Berlin was declared insolvent. Air Berlin’s creditors have selected Lufthansa and British budget carrier easyJet to negotiate over a carve-up of its assets. The Lufthansa investment is set to be used for the purchase and lease of 41 A320 single aisle jets and 20 Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 planes, Lufthansa said. Those planes will likely come from Air Berlin, with Lufthansa saying the purchase or lease of the planes is “partly dependent” on a successful conclusion of talks to take over assets from Air Berlin. Lufthansa has made an offer for Air Berlin’s holiday airline Niki, which flies 21 A320 family jets, regional unit Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter, which flies 20 Dash 8 turboprops, plus some additional A320 planes, Air Berlin’s administrator said on Monday. <br/>
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Russian authorities are prioritising measures to transport of VIM-Avia passengers in the wake of the financial crisis engulfing the leisure operator. The Russian ministry of transport says the airline has a "lack of funds" to meet obligations to passengers. But it has taken immediate decisions to allow the operator to use its own fleet, or the aircraft of other carriers, to ensure that customers with immediate transport needs are conveyed. VIM-Avia's operations have been disrupted by the suspension of airport services to the troubled carrier. The ministry says it is drawing up, over the next two days, a schedule of airlines willing to provide capacity for the carrier's network.<br/>
Malindo Air will transfer its Boeing 737 Max aircraft to Indonesia's Lion Air after four months of service. A source confirmed the plan to FlightGlobal, but was unable to explain what led to the carrier's decision to cease operating the re-engined variant of the 737. Flight Fleets Analyzer showed that Malindo received the first aircraft in May, registered 9M-LRC. It was also the first to be delivered to a commercial operator. In the subsequent two months, it received -LRD and -LRF. Except for -LRD, two aircraft was transferred to Lion Air in recent weeks. Lion Air received its first 737 Max 8 in July, bearing the registration PK-LQJ. This aircraft was originally meant for Malindo, before being transferred to Lion to facilitate the latter's expansion plans. The parent company had previously said that out of the eight 737 Max it is to receive this year, Malindo will operate three, and Lion five. At the type's inaugural flight in May, Lion Air Group founder Rusdi Kirana said that Lion and Malindo will each take four aircraft. The same source also said Malindo is not likely to take the Airbus A330-300s on order by Lion Air Group. Thai media reports suggest that Thai Lion Air will operate the widebody for its medium and long-haul expansion by year-end.<br/>
Emirates announced on Tuesday that it will introduce three additional flights per week to the Swedish capital, complementing the airline’s existing schedule and providing more choice to travellers from 8th December 2017.<br/>The new flights will be added to meet the growing demand for travel on the route, particularly during the winter season. Since launching its current daily scheduled service in September 2013, Emirates has continued to grow demand for both inbound and outbound travel. The introduction of the three additional flights on every Friday, Saturday and Sunday is in response to the increased demand. The three new weekly flights will also enhance Sweden’s global long-haul connectivity, offering passengers travelling from Stockholm the chance to reach over 70 Emirates destinations in Asia, Australasia, Africa and the Middle East. The new Emirates flight EK155 will commence from 8th December, departing Dubai at 3pm, arriving in Stockholm Arlanda Airport at 6.45pm. The return flight EK156 will depart 9.10pm and arrive at Dubai International Airport at 6.30 am the following day.<br/>