Lufthansa is paying the price of chasing market share in its own backyard as the cost of integrating jets from collapsed rival Air Berlin weighs on earnings. Lufthansa shares fell as much as 9.5% Tuesday, the biggest intraday drop in more than 2 years, after the carrier’s latest results missed analyst estimates, forcing it to trim expansion plans to help bolster margins. Lufthansa previously called the chance to snap up planes from Air Berlin the opportunity of a lifetime. While the move added passengers, the company has struggled to efficiently utilise the jets, racking up a bill from compensation for delays. “Clearly we’re unhappy, but we’re accepting the short-term costs that will translate into long-term benefits,” said CFO Ulrik Svensson. The executive said he’s confident that unit costs will still fall this year. <br/>
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Lufthansa is considering a commercial partnership with Alitalia, but has ruled out a financial investment. “Investing is out of the question for us alongside a state-owned entity,” Lufthansa Group CE Carsten Spohr said Tuesday. “A commercial partnership is on the agenda for the next few months; we know the management team at Alitalia very well.” Binding bids for a stake in Alitalia are due Oct. 31 and Lufthansa has in the past expressed an interest in investing. However, the German airline has made clear what measures would have to be taken in terms of restructuring the airline before it would commit to putting in its own money. Those proposals have been rejected by the Italian govt, which has kept the carrier flying through bridge loans since the airline went into the Italian equivalent of bankruptcy. <br/>
Criticised for its treatment of passengers in Zurich early this month, THAI is again on the defensive after passengers were stranded in Guangzhou Sunday. Tuesday, THAI issued another statement apologising and insisting its passenger care meets all international standards. The assertion came after photos and a video clip were posted on social media showing bewildered Thai and foreign travellers booked on flight TG669 stranded at Guangzhou airport in China for almost 10 hours Oct 28 after the flight was cancelled. The airline statement, which was only in Thai, apologised to all 309 passengers for the inconvenience and explained that the aircraft used on flight TG669 had developed a technical fault and technicians were called in to examine it. <br/>
Avianca's entire Boeing 787 fleet is back in service, although the aircraft are operating with some restrictions after a "very painful" period of grounding, says Avianca CE Hernan Rincon. The carrier's 12-aircraft 787 fleet was back to operating flights as of about a month or so ago, Rincon said. It also received a 13th 787 a few weeks ago. Avianca previously had 2 787s grounded for repairs to its Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. While the airline's 787 fleet is back in service, they are operating with certain restrictions on flight hours, flight paths and other limitations, says Rincon. "We are hoping that by mid-year next year at the latest, that all the issues are resolved not only conceptually, but all the new hardware will be installed on the engines," he adds. <br/>
Airbus plans to deliver its delayed A330-900 aircraft to launch customer TAP Portugal "imminently", an executive with the planemaker said Tuesday. The 290-seat aircraft is part of the A330neo series - an upgrade of the A330 wide-body jet with new engines designed to blunt sales of the lightweight Boeing 787. A smaller 250-seat sister plane, the A330-800, is close to staging its first flight, Mark Pearman-Wright, head of leasing and investor marketing at Airbus, added. Rolls-Royce said last week that it faced production delays with engines for the A330neo. Airbus and Boeing have been locked in a fierce battle for sales of relatively small wide-body jets like the A330neo, which has been struggling to win orders against the 787 Dreamliner. <br/>
United Airlines failed to address critical food safety issues at Newark Liberty International, endangered passengers and retaliated against employees for speaking up, 3 high-level managers who worked in its catering division allege in lawsuits filed last month. United further engaged in a pattern of disregard for food safety and attempted to cover up problems, according to the lawsuits by United's former senior manager of food safety, the GM of the Newark catering facility, and a Newark food safety manager. United denied the allegations and said the lawsuits were without merit. "Everyone at United Airlines…is committed to serving our customers the safest and highest quality food in the air," it said. Additionally, United said it is unaware of any foodborne illnesses confirmed to be linked to any food served on its flights. <br/>