Lufthansa has warned that its E9b bailout from the German government is at risk, after its biggest shareholder indicated he might reject the deal in a vote later this month. Heinz Hermann Thiele, one of Germany’s richest men, who owns more than 15% of the airline, said that while he did not want to block the rescue package, he wanted to determine what other solutions were available to Lufthansa before being forced to vote it through. The carrier responded on Wednesday, saying: “In view of the latest public statements by the company’s largest single shareholder . . . the board considers it possible that the stabilisation package could fail to achieve the two-thirds majority of votes cast that would be required in this case.” It added in the statement that if the rescue package failed to be approved at an extraordinary meeting on June 25, Lufthansa would probably be forced to begin insolvency proceedings. <br/>
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LOT will resume international flights on July 1, it said on Wednesday, almost four months after suspending them to curb the spread of the coronavirus. State-controlled LOT said its first destinations will include Germany, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Norway, Greece and Spain. The carrier suspended flights abroad on March 13 when the government closed Poland’s borders to foreigners as part of its coronavirus lockdown.<br/>
The US DoT said Wednesday it fined Panama's Copa Airlines US$450,000 for unlawfully transporting passengers between the US and Venezuela via a stopover point, and ordered the airline to avoid future similar violations. The department said Copa violated a May 2019 order that barred U.S. and foreign air carriers from transporting passengers between the United States and Venezuela. It said Copa sold more than 5,000 tickets for air travel between the US and Venezuela and transported more than 15,000 passengers after the order took effect. Copa told officials it understands the seriousness of the matter and took considerable steps to avoid future violations, the transportation department said. Copa later reiterated that in a statement. <br/>
Air NZ Thursday forecast an underlying loss of up to NZ$120m ($77.50m) for the financial year ending June 30, as it grapples with a plunge in air travel demand following the coronavirus outbreak. The airline last month warned of an annual loss after it reported a slew of impairment charges it would take on its planes and a 30% cut in its workforce. Air NZ said last week it was aiming to return to "healthy profits" by 2022 under a plan that includes flying fewer passengers and routes and possibly cutting more jobs. The company will record a NZ$70m non-cash gain in its full-year results related to the impact of foreign exchange movements on some of its unhedged debt, it said Thursday.<br/>
Air NZ will ramp up capacity over the school holidays next month by operating 787-9 Dreamliners between Auckland and Christchurch. The 302-seat aircraft is scheduled to operate 16 return passenger services between July 1-19, translating into an extra 10,000 seats on the route. The airline's General Manager Networks Scott Carr said there will be added capacity also on Auckland to Wellington, Dunedin and Queenstown, as well as from Wellington to Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown. "When it comes to our Auckland-Queenstown route, we’ll be offering even more capacity over the school holidays than we did during the same time last year through upgauging 140 return services from our A320 to our larger A321neo aircraft between 29 June and 26 July. This is great news for tourism and those wanting to hit the slopes," said Carr. Regional routes will also get extra services. The airline has been slowly increasing flights since the drop in coronavirus alert levels. Jetstar is also resuming its domestic operations, with pilots preparing to return to work and cut-price airfares on sale from July 1.<br/>