SAS will stop selling duty-free goods on board its flights to save fuel and inch closer to its goal of cutting emissions by at least 25% by 2030, it said on Tuesday. The airline industry says it is working to shrink its carbon footprint as it battles a growing campaign launched in Sweden to encourage people to take fewer flights and take “greener” transport options, such as the train. This has added to the challenge facing an industry that is already battling higher fuel prices and stiffer competition. SAS CEO Rickard Gustafson said in May that SAS had seen some impact from the growing climate debate, with some Swedish companies encouraging employees to take the train instead of short-haul flights. To show its commitment to tackling emissions blamed for global warming, the company said on Tuesday it would end tax-free onboard sales from the autumn to reduce fuel consumption of its planes by cutting the weight of its flights. “Every step on the way to sustainable travel is important. Every initiative to reduce weight and thereby cut fuel consumption helps,” said SAS executive VP for commercial activities.<br/>
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EgyptAir plans to add frequencies on its new service to Washington Dulles airport in the "near future" as part of a larger push into North America. The carrier began three-times weekly service to Dulles from its Cairo base with a Boeing 787-9 today. Washington, DC is EgyptAir's second US destination after New York, and third in North America after Toronto. "We are confident that there is huge potential for EgyptAir to compete in Washington and expand to daily service in the near future," says captain Mohamed Raafat Elyan, vice-chairman of EgyptAir, at a launch event at Washington Dulles airport. Washington is the airline's second new destination in 2019 after Kigali, Rwanda, which it began serving in April, Cirium schedules data shows. System capacity is scheduled to increase roughly 5% this year. EgyptAir is already looking at further growth in North America. It is "studying" potential service to Chicago, says Elyan, cautioning the carrier's immediate focus remains on the new Dulles service. "When you have one new route like Washington, it is better to have daily service before you go to another destination," he says. <br/>
Bookings for the summer months are looking good, the CE of Lufthansa said, adding that the airline’s performance would improve in coming quarters after a weak start to the year. In late April, Germany’s biggest airline said its net loss widened nine-fold to E342m in the first three months of the year, hurt by rising fuel costs and excess capacity in Europe. Asked about summer bookings, Carsten Spohr told Neue Zuercher Zeitung: “It is looking good, not just with regard to business travelers. That’s why we’ve said that we’ll be seeing better quarters compared with the first.” European airlines are battling overcapacity and high fuel costs, while uncertainty around Brexit has led some travellers to delay booking flights for their summer holidays.<br/>
LOT Polish Airlines on Tuesday ruled out cancelling an order for grounded Boeing 737 MAX jets but urged the US planemaker to take steps to restore their credibility after two accidents. “If somebody is ready to cancel the MAX order because of what happens I think it is more of an emotional decision than a rational decision,” CE Rafal Milczarski said. Some airlines have threatened to cancel orders citing safety reasons, though analysts say the moves coincide with sporadic economic pressure on airlines to reduce or defer deliveries. “I think Boeing will have to make a lot of efforts to restore their credibility in the market. I’m sure they will do that. I can’t see reasons at the moment - unless the regulators find it - to cancel the MAX orders,” Milczarski said.<br/>