Lufthansa is looking to merge the European operations of its catering unit LSG with a peer as it struggles with low margins in a competitive market on the continent, people close to the matter said. Lufthansa has provided information to potential bidders and has asked them to make offers for the business in early April, the people said. Austria's Do&Co and Switzerland's Gategroup are expected to make offers for the European LSG operations, the people said. While Lufthansa is currently focused on finding a solution for its European operations, a deal for its international business could follow at a later stage, the people said. The catering business is challenged by a large number of locations it serves, high staff costs and exposure to currency exchange rates, CE Carsten Spohr said recently. <br/>
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Constraints at Lufthansa's Frankfurt hub were behind its order for 40 Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s earlier this month, says group CE Carsten Spohr. Flight operations from Frankfurt are limited due to noise restrictions to appease neighbouring residents and costs are high compared to other European hubs, said Spohr on Frankfurt. "Frankfurt, we believe, has reached its limit of growth," he says, also citing customer satisfaction behind the decision to shift growth away from Frankfurt. The A350-900s and 787-9s, which Lufthansa ordered earlier in March, will begin delivering in 2022 and support growth from the group's hubs in Munich, Zurich and Vienna. Lufthansa will operate the Munich services, Swiss Zurich flights and Austrian Airlines Vienna service, he says. <br/>
The Croatian govt has embarked on another attempt to find an investor in Croatia Airlines. The govt has made 2 attempts over the past few years to either privatise the airline, or find a suitable private sector partner. There have been no takers, even though the company has been consistently, if modestly, profitable for several years. The govt began the process again in February. The emphasis is on finding a partner that will invest in fleet and network development, Croatia Airlines CE Jasmin Bajić said Wednesday. The govt wants an investor that will help grow the airline. After more than 2 years of negotiations, the company signed a 5-year labour agreement with its workforce earlier this year, Bajić said. That new agreement may make the airline more attractive to investors. <br/>
United Airlines, after an internal investigation, is warning its flight attendants to stop selecting or trading flights to buy or sell to each other. In a March 22 memo addressed to United's flight attendants, the airline said that over the past few months, concerns regarding "illicit trip brokering" have come up. Some flight attendants have apparently been scooping up the best trips and brokering, buying or selling them for personal gain. All this follows the airline firing more than 35 employees after it discovered that they were abusing their employee travel perks by selling travel passes. United warned the flight attendants that they could be fired for these brokering, buying or selling practices. In the memo, the airline encourages whistle-blowers to speak up and reminds them that no one should be afforded "an unfair advantage". <br/>