Pilots at Brussels Airlines staged the first of two planned days of strikes over pay and conditions on Monday, grounding about 75% of the Belgian carrier’s flights. The pilots have announced they will strike on Monday and Wednesday after weeks of negotiations with the airline. Brussels Airlines said it regretted the action, which would affect more than 60,000 passengers booked on 557 flights into and out of Brussels on the two days. It listed 54 flights it would operate on Monday and 60 on Wednesday and said there were likely to be additions in the course of the day. Pilots want a pay increase, a better work-life balance, improved career prospects and the possibility of earlier retirement. Some 80% of them voted to strike. Union leaders have said some of the concerns relate to uncertainty over the future of the airline within Lufthansa.<br/>
star
United Continental’s strategy of adding flights in its hubs is coming to the New York area. The airline will bolster service connecting Newark, New Jersey, to 17 US cities starting Oct. 4, with destinations including Pittsburgh, San Antonio and Orlando, Florida. United will also turn winter-only flights from Newark to Key West, Florida, into year-round service in October, while beginning winter nonstop flights to Palm Springs, California. The additional flights extend United’s push to grab more market share at its biggest US hubs as it seeks to close a profitability gap with Delta and American Airlines. United is also working to bolster traffic at Chicago, Denver and Houston. It’s planning to increase seat capacity by as much as 6% a year through 2020 as it seeks to reclaim what President Scott Kirby has called its “natural share” of the domestic market. United will offer the new flights at Newark by shifting capacity from other parts of its network, said a spokesman. The airline is also moving service for three smaller cities from Newark to Dulles International Airport outside Washington. The destinations are Chattanooga, Tennessee, Ithaca, New York, and Scranton, Pennsylvania.<br/>
Ethiopian Airlines will start serving Manchester in northern England from December, adding a second UK destination months before Britain is due to quit the EU and 45 years after the carrier began flying to London Heathrow. The service from Addis Ababa will operate four times weekly using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet in a two-class layout, initially as an extension of the carrier’s existing Brussels route, Ethiopian Air said Monday. Ethiopian has developed a network that links 67 major global cities with almost 60 African destinations via its hub in the capital. About 400,000 people living within a two-hour drive of Manchester currently travel to Africa each year, according to the airport. Tewolde GebreMariam, the airline’s CEO, said that the initial flights are being tacked on to the Brussels route in order to test the market and that direct services should begin some time next year.<br/>
Air New Zealand will increase its domestic fares by 5% from Thursday. Travel agents say they received the news from the airline Monday, and Tuesday the airline confirmed it could no longer absorb extra costs. "We are increasing domestic airfares by 5% in response to operational cost pressures, including labour, fuel, goods and services, which we're unable to continue to absorb," a spokeswoman said. Jet fuel prices are up 54% on a year ago and while the fare increase will apply to domestic fares, Air New Zealnd international fares are also under review. Jetstar is holding its fares around New Zealand, for now. "Our focus is on providing the lowest fares we can however we regularly monitor all our costs, including the rising fuel prices," said a spokesman.<br/>
Air New Zealand has launched a top secret project to revamp its business class cabin. The airline has taken space in a secure building near its downtown Auckland headquarters to develop new seats for its business premier class, timed for fitting into its next generation of long-haul planes early next decade, and for retrofitting into the aircraft that remain in its fleet. While the airline is not releasing details of the project, the test site has been dubbed ''Hangar 22'' and for the past month a handful of its customers, including some of its most frequent long-haul flyers have started trialling early-stage product development. The new business class seats are likely to lead to new versions of premium economy and economy seats in other parts of the plane. During testing for new seats participants typically sleep on lie-flat seats for hours, sometimes overnight to provide feedback to airlines and designers. They sample new food, entertainment and service. They are likely to have signed confidentiality agreements and it is understood work at Hangar 22 is so sensitive that the airline's top executives are not allowed to enter the site without an innovation team escort.<br/>