United Airlines customers seeking to reach the carrier’s top elite 1K status in the carrier's MileagePlus frequent flyer program will have to spend more bucks to reach that tier in 2019. The carrier said Friday that starting next year customers must spend at least US$15,000 premier qualifying dollars annually on tickets to reach 1K status for the following year. That’s up from the $12,000 annual spend United now requires to earn 1K status. And United will make it more slightly difficult to accrue the 100,000 annual premier qualifying miles needed to reach that 1K tier. The carrier said it is dropping the double miles passengers now accrue for buying a premium ticket with a "P" fare designation. Starting in 2019, any premium cabin ticket designated as a “P” fare will receive 150% of miles flown. <br/>
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United Airlines president Scott Kirby could not have been clearer Thursday about the carrier’s long-term goal on the environmental innovation front. In a speech at United headquarters before a hundred Chicago area executives, Kirby declared United intends to be “the most environmentally-conscious airline in the world.” The symposium, dubbed “Innovation in the Skies,” was organised in conjunction with Clean Energy Trust, a not-for-profit promoting clean energy initiatives. Kirby noted that 99% of United’s greenhouse gas emissions come from that annual fuel burn. Per Kirby, the key to United’s efforts to reduce both fuel costs and greenhouse gas emissions is the increased use of eco-friendly biofuels. <br/>
United Airlines will debut the longest variant of the Boeing 787 family at its Newark Liberty hub in January, ending months of speculation on where it would fly the new aircraft first. The 787-10 is scheduled to enter service with the carrier on flights between Newark and Los Angeles Jan 7, initially operating 6-times weekly. United will expand its 787-10 network to include flights between Newark and San Francisco from Feb 14. The initial schedules for the latest Dreamliner, which United will configure with 318 seats including its new Polaris business class and Premium Plus premium economy seats, could change before January. United has orders for 14 787-10s, with the first 3 due by the end of this year. The airline will likely shift the aircraft to transatlantic routes following the initial domestic proving runs. <br/>
The Lufthansa Group has converted options for 24 Airbus A320neo and 3 A321neo aircraft into firm orders, as the airline responds to a positive market and earnings development by making sure its future fleet size is adequate. The latest agreement, valued at US$3b at list prices, brings the total number of A320neo/A321neo orders to 149 for the group, 13 of which already operate with Lufthansa. One part of the order will be equipped with Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines, the other with CFM LEAP-1A engines. This means that both engine types will continue to be available to the Lufthansa Group in roughly equal proportions for the A320neo family fleet. The two aircraft types are scheduled for delivery in 2023 and 2024. Ten of the 27 new aircraft are intended for SWISS. <br/>