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Portugal’s TAP-Air Portugal is preparing the ground for an expected IPO of its shares, the head of listings at Euronext Lisbon bourse said Thursday. TAP, which was partly privatised in 2015, is 50% owned by the Portuguese state. Private consortium Atlantic Gateway, led by Brazilian-US airline mogul David Neeleman, has a 45% stake. TAP employees hold the remaining 5%. “TAP is already doing the preparatory work, communicating with the market, presenting its results, which is not very common for privately owned companies,” Filipa Franco said. She said a four-year debenture loan worth at least E50m that the company plans to list on Euronext on June 24 “will be a rehearsal for TAP so within some time, not very long, it can carry out its IPO.” She added that she was in regular contact with the company. TAP declined to comment but officials from the airline have previously said they were considering an IPO at some point in the future. <br/>

Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit said Thursday it plans to bring its satellite launch system to Japan in partnership with airline operator ANA Holdings Inc, which will provide maintenance and possibly aircraft. Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne system is undergoing testing with the aim of launching rockets bearing small satellites into space from a modified jumbo jet. The company said it will conduct its first orbital test flight later this year. Branson's space ventures, however, have a history of delays, with his space tourism company Virgin Galactic running more than a decade behind the schedule originally promised by the British billionaire. Virgin Orbit and ANA Holdings, parent of All Nippon Airways, in a joint statement said they will identify a launch site together with Space Port Japan, an industry-backed body which aims to turn Japan into a space business hub.<br/>

LOT Polish Airlines is being challenged by the grounding of its five Boeing 737 MAX 8s and some of its Rolls-Royce powered Boeing 787 fleet during the European high season. The MAXs have been grounded since March after an October 2018 crash of a Lion Air 737 MAX and the March 2019 Ethiopian Airlines MAX crash, killing a total of 346 people. The second accident led to the country-by-country worldwide grounding that remains in place. LOT CEO Rafał Milczarski told ATW on the sidelines of this week’s IATA AGM in Seoul that authorities are going through a “very thorough process” regarding the MAX grounding. “It is obvious that some mistakes were made in the past. [The European Aviation Safety Agency] EASA and FAA are extra cautious in their approach to make a decision [on the lifting of the grounding], which is “taking probably longer than expected.” As a European airline, LOT relies on EASA to determine the MAX’s airworthiness, in which Milczarski has full confidence. “EASA is very professional and regulates the market to the highest standards. When EASA decides the MAX is safe to fly, then it is truly safe to fly.” He believes there is no need to change the name of the aircraft, because it will not change anything. “It is still a type of 737 with a different engine type,” he said. LOT is wet leasing four aircraft and taking additional dry-leased aircraft to fill gaps in the MAX delivery stream, which had been planned for the summer. <br/>

United hasn’t served complimentary meals in economy for years, but passengers on Flight 310 from Chicago to Los Angeles on Wednesday were treated to a choice of a Thai summer salad with mango and rice noodles, a quinoa and kale superfood wrap or an artisanal cheese plate. No, the airline isn't bringing back free food. United served the meals instead of its typical free pretzel mix and snacks for sale to highlight what it says are industry-leading initiatives to help the environment. The airline previously set a goal of reducing its emissions by more than 50% by 2050. The meals were served on compostable or recyclable plates; hot beverages were served in recyclable paper cups, an industry first, according to the airline. The cutlery was compostable. In first class, passengers' meals were covered with a beeswax wrap instead of the usual plastic and there was no plastic ring around the napkin. The goal: zero cabin waste instead of the average 65 pounds of garbage taken off a United flight. (They got it down to 14 pounds, all of it passenger garbage.) A reduction in cabin waste was one of four major steps the airline took on the one-time flight it dubbed the "Flight for the Planet". The airline said it was the first carrier to take all of the actions on a single flight, declaring it "the most eco-friendly commercial flight of its kind in the history of aviation." "It showcases our industry-leading commitment to becoming the most environmentally conscious airline in the world," United president Scott Kirby said before the flight took off from O'Hare airport. He called it a personal priority.<br/>