Airline Avianca Holdings will begin negotiations with Airbus to reduce the 100 planes it had agreed to purchase in a 2015 deal to as few as 50, the CE of the Latin American company said. Avianca was also seeking a strategic alliance with Lufthansa, CEO Hernan Rincon said Sunday, part of its bid to expand in Europe. Avianca representatives will travel to France in the coming days for re-negotiations with Airbus, Rincon said. Avianca had agreed to buy 100 A320neo planes to modernize its fleet. “Of those 100, we’ll probably receive between 50 and 80 planes,” he said. “We don’t have any doubt that we will keep growing, what has changed is the rhythm of the growth.” Technological advancement is part of the reason for the airline wanting to reduce its purchases, Rincon added. “The rhythm of technology is changing, it will take a while to get all of the order and we don’t want to have a commitment to planes with today’s technology which will be received by us in 10 or 15 years,” he said. A reduction in the original order, which was set to cost $10b, will also give Avianca some financial breathing room, Rincon added.<br/>
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United and the operator of Washington Dulles International airport have reached an agreement to invest at least $34m in a concourse expansion. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) will reimburse the Chicago-based carrier up to $33.8m for construction of an extension to concourse C to house a new premium Polaris lounge at Dulles, a presentation to the operator's board shows. The initial deal was first reported by FlightGlobal in August. Jack Potter, CE of MWAA, said at the time that the ground floor of the planned extension would be used to improve the flow of international arriving passengers. The lounge will be on the departures level. "That's part of improving the passenger experience," he said. MWAA would only reimburse United for enabling work and building the structure, not for interior fittings or other investments in the lounge, according to the presentation. The airline would manage construction. In addition, the presentation makes no mention of a replacement of concourses C and D at Dulles, which opened as "temporary" facilities in the mid-1980s. The deal is a step by United towards fulfilling its goal to open Polaris lounges, which are part of a larger investment in passenger-facing products like new business-class seats and a premium economy cabin, at all of its gateway hubs. <br/>
Starting this Friday, coach passengers on United who want to avoid the back of the plane may have to pay up for it. The airline will charge a fee for so-called preferred seats on flights throughout its network. These seats don't come with extra legroom or other perks. They're standard economy seats that will be behind the Economy Plus rows, which come with more space. United's rivals American and Delta already have a surcharge in place for such seats. The trend is part of airline's efforts to segment their coach-class cabins, an effort to get travelers to pay up for perks that used to be included in airfare. Airlines already offer travellers add-ons such as early boarding, lounge access and more legroom. United did not say how much more travellers would have to pay for seats in these preferred locations. <br/>