Asiana Airlines’ revised recovery plan by its 9 creditors, led by Korea Development Bank, will involve the restructuring of its network and eliminating unprofitable routes before the airline is sold in December. The sale, which is expected to reduce liquidity risks, will include Asiana’s 2 subsidiary LCCs, Air Busan and Air Seoul. Asiana holds a 44.2% stake in Air Busan and owns the latter outright. According to an official at Kumho Asiana Group, Lee Keun-dong, a detailed analysis of the airline’s network including revenue derived from each route will be carried out before a decision is made on the routes to be axed. Asiana currently has a network of 14 domestic and 90 international destinations. <br/>
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Boeing’s 737 Max shouldn’t be returned to service until all airlines using the plane are ready to fly it “safely and uniformly,” said the CE of United Continental. “It can’t be just one or two” carriers that return the plane to commercial service, Oscar Munoz said. Given public concerns about the aircraft, “We have to be in lockstep to get this back up,” he said Wednesday. United has been given no time frame for regulators to clear the Max to resume flights, Munoz said. “I know what you know,” he said. The carrier has 14 of the 737 Max jets, a smaller fleet than rivals Southwest and American Airlines, with 34 and 24, respectively. The “primary focus of every conversation” United has held with Boeing on the Max has been about flight safety, Munoz said. <br/>
United Airlines unveiled its brand-new livery Wednesday. It's United's first new paint scheme since the company merged with Continental Airlines in 2012. "As we improve and elevate our customer experience, we are changing the way people think and feel about United, and this branding captures that new spirit," United Airlines CE Oscar Munoz said. "This modernised design, especially our iconic globe, enhances the very best of United's image and values while pointing in the direction of where we intend to go next in serving our customers." The current United livery is based on Continental's old blue and grey paint scheme, complete with a blue and gold globe on the tail. That design has been around for nearly 3 decades. <br/>
Scandinavian Airlines pilots threatened to go on strike after labour negotiations with the airline collapsed. Without a last-minute agreement, a strike could begin April 26. The SAS Pilot Group called for the action after it said the two sides could not reach an agreement on predictable working hours and market-based salaries. The group consists of SAS pilots from 4 unions: the Danish Pilots Association, the Norwegian SAS Flyers Association, Scandinavian Norway Flygerforening and the Swedish Air Line Pilots Association. The group represents 95% of SAS pilots in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. SAS, which employs around 1,500 pilots, said it hopes to reach new collective bargaining agreements. However, the carrier said it is offering rebooking for passengers scheduled to fly April 26-29 to another date free of charge. <br/>