Having come in for criticism over its changes to catering, including the switch to buy-on-board catering for short-haul economy passengers, British Airways has announced a raft of changes to win over passengers. The airline revealed what it billed as a multi-million pound investment in its long-haul economy cabin catering, including a 4-course meal and second meal, "or substantial snack depending on the length of the flight". A second meal for some long-haul flights had previously been ditched, before BA then announced in November that catering would be upgraded as part of a GBP4.5b investment drive so everyone has "better snacks" and on longer flights, "everyone has a full second meal". Previously, customers were offered a snack, a 3-course meal or light meal, depending on the time and length of their flight. <br/>
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As British Airways prepares for its biggest summer programme of flights from Gatwick for a decade, Thousands of passengers may find themselves buying BA tickets but flying on a different carrier. IAG, paid over GBP50m for slots at the Sussex airport previously owned by Monarch, which closed in October. Permission to land and take off at specific times is granted on a “use it or lose it” basis, so BA will be expected to operate 28% more flights to fill the slots. The airline has already announced plans for more than 15% additional arrivals and departures, including increased flights to Spain and Portugal. Without a commensurate increase in the number of aircraft and staff based at Gatwick, the airline will have to bring in planes and crews from elsewhere — or “wet leasing”. <br/>
A bid by IAG to acquire much of bankrupt Air Berlin's Niki division has hit a legal stumbling block with an appeals court ruling. The Berlin state court decided Monday that a Berlin administrative court did not have the jurisdiction to handle the insolvency of Austria-based Niki and that it's up to an Austrian court to decide. The decision, which can be appealed to a federal court, comes after IAG said in December it would pay E20m (US$24m) for Niki and inject another E16.5m into the company. It plans to found a new Austria-based subsidiary of Vueling, taking on up to 15 Airbus A320 jets. <br/>
LATAM Airlines Group plans to revive domestic capacity growth in its Spanish-speaking country (SSC) affiliates in 2018, projecting a 6%-8% rise in ASK growth for the sector following a [0%] halt in capacity growth during 2017. The company made its projections in preliminary guidance for 2018 released Jan 5 The airline group estimates the group will see 5%-7% company-wide capacity growth for full-year 2018, up significantly over the 1% capacity growth the company maintained in 2017. The company is estimating its full-year 2018 operating margin will be in the 7.5%-9.5% range, a 1.5 point rise over the company’s projected 2017 operating margin range of 6%-8%. LATAM’s international capacity will grow an estimated 6%-8%, a 3 point rise from 4% growth in 2017. <br/>