South African Airways said “time is of the essence” for the govt to provide a pledged cash injection if the loss-making carrier is to continue flying. The National Treasury agreed last month to give the airline ZAR2b (US$140m) as part of the terms of its bankruptcy protection, but has yet to follow through. SAA canceled 38 flights this week to save money and warned that further cuts may be in the offing. “We are awake to the fact that the money we need will serve as working capital and that time is of the essence,” A SAA spokesman said Thursday. “While we do not sit with cash in hand, we remain optimistic that there will be a favourable outcome.” Finance minister Tito Mboweni said the National Treasury is “working feverishly” to source the ZAR2b. <br/>
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JPMorgan Chase and United Airlines sweetened rewards on their credit cards as the companies continue to renegotiate the terms of their long-time partnership. For the first time, JPMorgan and United will offer sign-up bonuses on all 4 of their joint cards, according the companies Thursday. They also introduced a new card for small-business owners that awards airline miles for every dollar spent on purchases such as local transit, gas, office supplies and restaurants. The new card and sign-up bonuses could signal that tension between JPMorgan and United has begun to thaw. The airline has complained that its cards face intense competition from JPMorgan’s proprietary offerings, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. United and JPMorgan last renewed their partnership in 2015. <br/>
Lufthansa is considering the sale of stock in its jet-aircraft maintenance business to fund the unit’s expansion and help boost the airline group’s market value, according to people familiar with the matter. A partial spinoff of the Technik division to Lufthansa shareholders is also being considered, though an IPO of a stake is the more likely option, said the people. The review is at an early stage and no final decision has been taken, they said. For Lufthansa Technik, a minority listing would help generate funds to invest in digitalisation or acquisitions, the people said. Unshackling the unit, one of the world’s largest aircraft-maintenance operations, would come as Lufthansa adopts a new holding-company structure meant to allow greater autonomy between its various divisions. <br/>
Swiss has completed a cabin refurbishment programme on its 5 remaining Airbus A340s, to bring their interiors in line with its Boeing 777 long-haul fleet. The A340-300s were fitted with “totally new” cabins and for the first time feature passenger internet access, says Swiss. The A340s have been equipped with Thomson Aero Seating VT36 first-class seats “similar” to those on Swiss’ 777-300ERs and the same Vantage business seats as on the long-haul twinjets. ZIM Flugsitz provided the economy seats, and Panasonic the IFE system. Swiss said in 2018 that the refurbishment programme represented a CHF100m (US$103m) investment. Swiss has declined to specify how long the A340s will remain part of its fleet <br/>