Germany’s E9b bailout of Lufthansa is being slowed by discussions meant to ensure the rescue plan receives swift EU approval once it’s finalized, people familiar with the matter said. One detail to be ironed out is a timetable for Germany’s exit from a direct stake it would take in Europe’s largest airline, one of the people said, asking not to be named because the talks are confidential. Bild am Sonntag reported earlier that Lufthansa would face a three-year deadline for repayment of the aid package. The outlines of the rescue deal that would make Germany the airline’s largest shareholder came together last week, ending weeks of debate. The government had aimed to issue a formal offer to the airline this weekend but talks between Germany, Lufthansa and the EC are holding up the plan, the person added. A Lufthansa supervisory board meeting has been delayed to Tuesday from Monday, Handelsblatt reported earlier. The German government has loosened its requirement that Lufthansa accept delivery of about E5b in Airbus aircraft orders, the newspaper said.<br/>
star
Lufthansa will resume flights to 20 destinations from mid-June, including some holiday hot-spots, a spokeswoman said Sunday. The destinations include Mallorca, Crete, Rhodes, Faro, Venice, Ibiza and Malaga, the spokeswoman said, adding flights would depart from the airline's main hub in Frankfurt. Further destinations will be unveiled at the end of next week, she said. The flight expansion comes less than two weeks after Lufthansa unveiled plans to resume flights to destinations including Los Angeles, Toronto and Mumbai from June, as it begins to restore business that was virtually shut down by the coronavirus crisis.<br/>
Air Canada is revising its cancellation policy amid mounting customer frustration, offering travellers the option of a voucher with no expiration date or Aeroplan points if the airline cancels their flight due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline says the new policy — the previous one capped travel vouchers at 24 months, with no Aeroplan option — applies to non-refundable tickets issued up to the end of June, with an original travel date between March 1 and June 30. Air Canada’s fresh tack comes as consumer advocates and thousands of passengers continue to demand their money back for services they paid for but have not received. Three petitions with more than 89,000 signatures are calling for full refunds to be implemented before financial aid is handed out to airlines, two of which were presented to the House of Commons over the past 11 days. Air Canada said it has refunded nearly $1b to customers since Jan. 1, largely to travellers who paid for refundable tickets. “While the world is making great progress against COVID-19, we know we must remain vigilant, which includes being flexible,” CCO Lucie Guillemette said Friday. The loyalty points option allows customers to convert their booking into Aeroplan miles “and get an additional 65% bonus miles,” she said.<br/>
Turkish Airlines will maintain its staffing levels for two years, even as the coronavirus pandemic devastates global air travel, Chairman Ilker Ayci said in an interview with Haberturk news website. “We see 2020 and 2021 not as years of profitability, but as years to protect employment,” Ayci said. “Our job is to resist layoffs, as much as we can afford to.” Global airlines’ revenue is unlikely to recover to 2019 levels for at least the next couple of years, he said. That said, no company can completely protect its workforce when there is a drop off in sales, so “all of us will need to make sacrifices,” Ayci said. Flight bans and the prospect of reduced passenger numbers because of continued social distancing and hygiene measures to avoid Covid-19 infections pose a significant threat to airlines’ income. The number of passengers Turkish Airlines carried in March fell 53% from a year earlier, the latest figures show. To navigate this period, Turkish Airlines is assessing new sources of finance, including selling old planes, said Ayci. The priority is for the national carrier to resolve its funding challenges on its own, he said.<br/>
The Thai government lowered its equity ownership in Thai Airways International to below 51% by selling a 3.2% stake, a regulatory filing showed, as part of the rehabilitation process for the troubled national carrier. The Thai Finance Ministry offloaded 69.2m shares to a mutual fund run by state-owned Krung Thai Bank, a Finance Ministry filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday showed. The filing did not disclose the sale price. The sale reduced the Thai government stake in Thai Airways to 47.86% from 51.03%, ending the airline’s status as a state-owned enterprise, one of the steps included in the restructuring plan of the national carrier.<br/>
United said Friday it would pay CEO Scott Kirby an annual base salary of US$1m, lower than what prior head Oscar Munoz received. The compensation committee also approved an annual base salary of US$775,000 for President Brett Hart, less than what Kirby got in the role, the company said in a regulatory filing. Both Kirby and Hart have waived 100% of their base salaries through the rest of the year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hammered the airline industry, with flights grounded to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. United said Kirby and Hart may not realize the full value of their respective compensation packages as the company has agreed to receive roughly US$5b in government payroll support under the CARES Act.<br/>
From today, many of Air New Zealand's Koru Lounges open for the first time since the level 4 lockdown began in late March, but restaurant table service rules will apply and, for now, it's soft drinks only. Patrons in the Wellington and Christchurch domestic lounges will need to take a seat and wait to be served with a selection of packaged snacks. Auckland travellers to main centres will dip out completely - the airport's domestic lounge is still under refurbishment and the temporary barn won't be open - although the spanking new lounge for regional flights will be taking Koru Club members, along with nine other regional airport lounges at Hamilton, Tauranga, Napier, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Nelson, Queenstown, Dunedin and Invercargill. "Customers will be required to be seated once they enter the lounge and there'll be table service with packaged snacks on offer, as well as beverages," Air NZ's GM of customer experience, Nikki Goodman said. The 100 person maximum rule will apply in those lounges large enough to take that many.<br/>