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United Continental Holdings has sealed a deal to partner with Avianca Holdings by agreeing to an unusual arrangement to pay off debt owed to a hedge fund. United will lend US$456m to a company controlled by German Efromovich, which owns just over half of Avianca. The funds would be used to repay a loan from Elliott Management, people familiar with the matter said. Avianca shares controlled by Efromovich, representing more than 51% of the company, will be put up as collateral for the loan. As part of the deal, the airlines will form a 3-way joint business agreement with Holdings to share revenues, integrate service and coordinate pricing and schedules on their networks between the US and Latin America, excluding Brazil. <br/>

Air NZ will make history Friday night when Flight 27 departs Chicago’s O’Hare International at 7:10 pm local time bound nonstop for Auckland, New Zealand more than 8,200 miles and 16 hours away. The new route will instantly become the longest nonstop commercial flight in the history of O’Hare and the longest ever flown by Air NZ, which is no stranger to long-haul flying. Air NZ will fly the new route on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, one of the newer stretch models in the Dreamliner series. As Air NZ begins operations in Chicago, United Airlines will be watching closely. United has a vested interest in ensuring the new route succeeds. Air NZ is counting on United to help funnel customers to the new route not only from Chicago but other markets throughout the Midwest and Eastern US. <br/>

Air NZ is undertaking significant cost-cutting efforts in response to higher fuel prices. The carrier has identified about NZ$30m (US$20.6m) in costs that can be removed before July 1, CE Christopher Luxon told employees in a memo the week of Nov 26. “These savings will come from a mix of turning off programs of work, resource reductions and tightening up on discretionary spend,” he said. In addition, Luxon said he has tasked his senior executives with “identifying further long-term sustainable cost savings” before the end of January, to take effect from the beginning of the airline’s next fiscal year July 1. Luxon noted that although fuel prices has dropped recently, “it is still significantly higher than 12 months ago and we need to make sure the business is resilient in a high fuel cost environment.” <br/>

Brussels Airlines has begun replacing 7 leased aircraft in its Airbus A330-family long-haul fleet with second-hand A330-300s the carrier decided to acquire last year. The transaction “is the most substantial investment made in the 16-year long history of Brussels Airlines,” the carrier said. “In addition, it’s the first time ever that the airline operates its long-haul flights with aircraft that are owned by the Lufthansa Group and not leased.” The airline operates 6 A330-300s and 4 A330-200s. Of the 7 newly acquired A330ceos, 4 were operated by Cathay Pacific Airways and 3 by SIA. Two of the new aircraft began operations in June, the company said, and one of the leased A330s left the fleet Nov 13, with another set to leave in December. The refleet is scheduled to be finalized by the beginning of 2020. <br/>