United is set to become a whole lot more united, with a new set of appearance standards for customer-facing staff. The airline is relaxing rules around hair length, make-up and nail polish and tattoos. The changes apply to all staff regardless of gender. A change in rules was signalled last month when the airline told staff it had "spent the last several years listening to the feedback we've received from our employees," and it had realised its "customer-facing teammates can provide an even better experience for our customers when they look and feel their best". The announcement to staff was accompanied by an image of a male identifying crew member wearing makeup and coloured nail polish, as well as a rainbow badge on his jacket. "We're confident that these modernised and more gender-inclusive appearance standards will provide a more authentic representation of the people and cultures that make United the company it is today," Kate Gebo, the executive vice president of the airline's department of human resources department said. The changes will initially only impact customer service staff and flight attendants, but the airline plans to implement the same rules to all staff including pilots and ramp workers within a few months.<br/>
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Twenty-three individuals were removed from a plane heading from Israel to New York Wednesday with faked negative COVID tests. According to the Health Ministry and the Israel Police, United Airlines alerted health authorities at Ben-Gurion International Airport that they suspected the tests, which are required for entering the United States, were forged. The tests were discovered to have been faked and the suspects were detained for questioning before being released on bail and fined, and their details were handed over to US authorities, say police. Additional punishments for the individuals are under consideration.<br/>
Avianca announced the launch of 23 new international routes from five different Latin American countries. Colombia will have 13 new point-to-point connections, Ecuador and Costa Rica will have four each, and El Salvador and Guatemala one each. Earlier this week, Avianca filed its Chapter 11 plan. It seems like there’s light at the end of Avianca’s long and dark tunnel. The airline is preparing itself to exit its bankruptcy process and become a leaner, more efficient company. One of Avianca’s objectives is to become a more competitive airline across the Latin American region. Therefore, Thursday the carrier announced the launch of 23 new international routes. <br/>
Lufthansa’s training division has emerged as the launch customer for a Boeing 787 fixed flight-training device designed to complement full-flight simulator activity. Lufthansa Aviation Training is acquiring the device from L3Harris Technologies, and is ordering a 787 full-flight simulator as part of the agreement. Both the flight-training device and the simulator will be delivered to the organisation’s centre in Frankfurt by the second half of 2022. Lufthansa ordered 20 787-9s in March and increased its commitment by a further five in May. “All training devices are convincing in daily training operations - not only for us, but also for our customers,” says Lufthansa Aviation Training managing director Matthias Spohr. He says the new 787 equipment will “significantly expand” the company’s portfolio, supporting training not only for the German carrier as it introduces a new aircraft type but also for third-party customers.<br/>
South African Airways welcomed back two of its A320-200s on Thursday, which arrived at Johannesburg O.R. Tambo after having been in storage and having undergone C-Check maintenance at Abu Dhabi Int'l during the carrier’s time in business rescue. The six-year-old aircraft have been part of the SAA fleet since 2015. “This is another noteworthy milestone towards full operational readiness. The image of two SAA aircraft landing and taxiing to their parking bays is a tangible manifestation of the hard work the airline’s staff are putting in,” commented interim CE, Thomas Kgokolo. The aircraft would undergo minimum routine maintenance and re-installation of mandatory SAA equipment in Johannesburg. Kgokolo said work continued in readying staff and "fine-tuning logistics" ahead of SAA’s return to service on a date still to be announced. He earlier said the airline would first restart cargo operations this month before resuming limited passenger services on South Africa's trunk routes.<br/>
Air NZ Friday delayed a planned capital raise for the second time this year, as uncertainty around COVID-19 forced the government to back out of investing at present. The government has promised to take part in an equity raise at a later date to maintain its majority shareholding in the national flag carrier, Air New Zealand said, pushing back its cash call to the first quarter of 2022 from an earlier target of September. With the pandemic battering airlines globally, the company earlier this month forecast a bigger annual loss, bracing for a hit from the suspension of a quarantine-free travel arrangement between the archipelago and Australia. The New Zealand government said Thursday it plans to allow quarantine-free entry to vaccinated travellers from low-risk countries from early 2022, as it looks to reopen its borders after nearly 18 months of pandemic-induced isolation. Air NZ said on Friday it expects to repay the entire amount drawn under a NZ$1.5b loan facility with the government after it is recapitalised. The company has drawn NZ$350m to date, it said earlier this month.<br/>