The EU said Friday it was concerned about the impact on competition of Lufthansa's plan to take over routes operated by failed rival Air Berlin. "We have quite deep competition concerns because there is a risk that on some routes Lufthansa becomes de facto a monopoly," EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said. The warning comes a week after Lufthansa offered concessions to encourage the EC to green-light its planned purchase of parts of Air Berlin. Lufthansa hopes to pay E210m (US$250m) for 81 aircraft from Air Berlin's 140-strong fleet, plus take-off and landing slots, as well as Austrian subsidiary Niki. But Vestager said she now wanted input from customers and competitors in the European aviation market to dispel any anti-trust doubts concerning the purchase. <br/>
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Air NZ is scrambling to find more aircraft after problems with Rolls-Royce engines on its Dreamliners forced flight cancellations and delays during the next 4 days. Air NZ has leased 2 aircraft from a Portuguese charter company to help maintain its timetable after Dreamliner engine problems forced unscheduled maintenance. The Airbus 330 and Airbus 340 are being chartered from Portuguese company Hi Fly. They are expected to begin operating some Auckland-Sydney and all Auckland-Perth services by next week. Air NZ GM customer experience Anita Hawthorne said the airline was working hard to minimise the impact on customers caused by the unscheduled Rolls-Royce engine maintenance. Two flights were affected last week after problems with turbine blades in the Trent 1000 engines. <br/>
THAI has launched special assistance services for monks and disabled passengers. The move is part of the airline's attempt to meet the requirements of the ICAO and CAAT. THAI acting president Usanee Sangsingkeo said the airline is continually improving its products and services to improve passenger comfort. The latest focus is on monks and passengers travelling with wheelchairs. She said such passengers will receive special assistance from the beginning of their journey to their final destination. Last month, Thai authorities issued new air operator certificates to 13 carriers after ICAO removed its red flag warning on Thailand. While THAI was not on ICAO's warning list, the airline was asked to improve services and make safety a top priority. <br/>
Turkish Airlines GM, Bilal Ekşi has confirmed that the company was in talks to add an additional 40 wide-body aircraft to its fleet for its prospective operations at Istanbul New Airport, also known as the Third Airport. Ekşi said THY was looking to open a new chapter in its growing business at the new airport, which is now almost 73% complete. In an article on the airlines' in-flight magazine, Skylife, Ekşi revealed THY's current and future projects as well as its 2023 targets. According to the Turkish daily, Habertürk, the THY GM also focused on the ongoing airport project in Istanbul. "We are proceeding rapidly to prepare for the transition to this new era that will start with the new airport. In this context, we have initiated talks to include 40 new generation wide-body aircraft to our fleet," Ekşi noted in his article. <br/>
A delegation from the US Transportation Security Administration praised the level of EgyptAir’s security team at the end of its visit Thursday to Cairo to review the security procedures on the company’s flights to New York. EgyptAir said that Safwat Musallam, chairman of the Board of Directors of the company, received the US aviation security delegation. Major general Ismael Abdel-Jawad, head of EgyptAir’s aviation security department, said that the American team praised the security measures implemented by EgyptAir and expressed great satisfaction with the efforts made by the company to improve the security system at the airport. The TSA delegation also praised the improvements they mark each visit to Cairo International. <br/>
United Continental is exploring a deal to invest in regional airline ExpressJet to boost its pipeline of pilots and expand service in the eastern and Midwestern US, people familiar with the matter said. The carrier is looking at acquiring an ownership stake in ExpressJet among other options in negotiations that are still developing, said the people. There’s no guarantee the discussions will lead to a deal with ExpressJet, an unprofitable subsidiary of SkyWest that already flies for United. The tie-up would help United beef up the domestic network that feeds travellers to other flights, as the carrier works to close a profit gap with Delta Air Lines and American Airlines. United has been adding dozens of flights between smaller cities and its largest airports, trips that can be more lucrative than the heavily-trafficked routes between big hubs. <br/>