Lufthansa cancelled half of Tuesday’s scheduled flights after a public-sector union set plans for a strike that will stifle operations at the German airline’s two largest airport hubs. More than 800 out of 1,600 trips won’t take place on Tuesday, the Lufthansa unit said Monday. The Verdi union said it will stage a warning strike of ground staff and fire fighters starting at 5 a.m., taking place at airports in Frankfurt and Munich, as well as smaller sites at Cologne and Bremen. The strike is “completely unacceptable,” said Lufthansa’s personnel and legal chief, Bettina Volkens, noting that the company isn’t a negotiating party in the conflict. The union is fighting for 6% higher pay for 2.3m public-service workers. About 58 of the cancelled flights are long distance, Lufthansa said. Altogether, about 90,000 passengers will be affected. Customers scheduled to fly through Frankfurt or Munich on Tuesday will be allowed to postpone their booking free of charge within seven days, while flights that are operating may be delayed.<br/>
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United Continental said a benchmark measure of pricing power rose near the upper end of a company forecast even as the No. 3 US carrier ramped up the supply of seats and flights. Passenger revenue for each seat flown a mile, a proxy for an airline’s ability to raise fares, rose about 2.7% in the quarter ended March 31, United said in a regulatory filing Monday. The carrier last month projected an increase of 1 to 3%. The report suggested that United’s fares were holding up despite the airline’s fast growth. Investors panned an aggressive expansion plan the company unveiled Jan. 24, sending the shares down 11% amid fears that the rising seat supply would dent pricing and profits across the industry. United boosted seating capacity 3.6% in Q1 and has said it expects to increase capacity by as much as 6% each year for the next three years.<br/>
Aviation advisory firm Swiss Aviation Consulting Monday denied it has expressed interest in buying the debt burdened state-run carrier Air India. SAC has never expressed interest in acquiring Air India or parts of it, or has acted as a front for some other stake holder, the company said. Earlier, the Economic Times newspaper quoted a senior aviation ministry official as saying that SAC has shown interest here in bidding for Air India, although the report added that the Swiss company may only be scouting for clients. The advisory firm said it has not been in contact with Indian government officials or Air India representatives regarding bidding for the carrier. SAC offers services including aircraft asset management, sales and consultancy services on acquisitions, according to its website.<br/>
Air NZ will launch two new routes across the Tasman from December and add 15% seat capacity across all its Tasman services as it pulls the plug on a seven-year relationship with Virgin Australia. The NZX-listed carrier has announced it would not reapply to continue an alliance from October, which prompted Virgin to warn that it may expand across the Tasman and possibly use its budget arm, Tigerair, in this country. Air NZd said from December 18 it would operate up to four times a week between Queenstown and Brisbane, increasing its international capacity from the city by 20 per cent. It would also operate up to five times a week between Wellington and Brisbane - a 15% increase, or 20,000 seats. Air NZ would also increase transtasman capacity into and out of Christchurch from October 28, including a move to double daily on peak days of the week to both Melbourne and Brisbane, and double daily Monday to Friday for Sydney. This represented a 15% increase in capacity or about 35,000 extra seats on Christchurch transtasman routes. Air New Zealand would also offer 125,000 additional transtasman seats from Auckland, including a new business-timed morning flight to Melbourne, more evening flights to Brisbane and a new middle of the day flight to Sydney.<br/>
Singapore Airlines was named the number one airline in the world in the annual Travellers’ Choice Awards by travel site TripAdvisor. TripAdvisor said Monday that the carrier was also recognised as the world's best first class and economy carrier. Qatar Airways was rated the best business class carrier, while Air NZ was ranked the highest for premium economy class. Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong said the national carrier was "honoured" to receive the title of best airline in the world. "The award is a validation of the hard work and dedication of our thousands of staff all around the world, who focus their attention every day on ensuring that Singapore Airlines remains competitive on a global level," he added. Award winners were determined among 69 airlines using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of airline reviews and ratings submitted by travellers worldwide, over a 12-month period on TripAdvisor Flights, according to the American travel site. <br/>