star

United doesn’t expect to fly dozens of Boeing 777 jets, grounded more than a year ago after one suffered an engine failure, until at least mid-May. The airline had most recently planned for at least some of the planes to return to service this month. The further delay in the planes’ return is a challenge for United as it seeks to fly as many travelers as possible during what airline executives expect to be a bustling spring travel season, including a resurgence international travel. The jets are among the largest in United’s fleet. “Due to the delay in the return of our PW777 aircraft to active service, the May flight schedule is being reconfigured to account for the lack of these aircraft,” United said in a note sent to pilots on Friday. In February 2021, one of United’s 777-200s bound for Honolulu from Denver suffered an engine failure, dropping debris in a residential area before returning to Denver’s main airport. No injuries were reported.United has 52 Boeing 777s powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000 engines. They are “being removed from the schedule through May 12 and removed from international/Hawaii routes through May 25,” United said in the note.<br/>The Federal Aviation Administration last month issued safety directives to increase inspections of fan blades on those engines. Those directives go into effect April 15. “We continue to work conscientiously with Boeing, Pratt & Whitney and the FAA to safely return these aircraft to service soon, and our current plan will allow them to return in the second half of May,” United said.<br/>

Lufthansa said Friday it had signed a revolving credit facility of E2.0b with a syndicate of international relationship banks to boost its liquidity. The unsecured loan facility replaces Lufthansa's existing undrawn credit lines of around 0.7b euros and will be available for three years with two one-year extension options, the airline said. "The signing of our first syndicated revolving credit facility strengthens our liquidity reserve and increases the efficiency of our balance sheet in securing our liquidity target of E6-8b," Finance Chief Remco Steenbergen said. HSBC Continental Europe, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg and UniCredit Bank acted as coordinating bookrunners and mandated lead arrangers, Lufthansa said.<br/>

Lufthansa Group has selected Tilman Reinshagen as the new chief operating officer of its Brussels Airlines division. Reinshagen will take over from Edi Wolfensberger who has newly been appointed COO of Eurowings. Brussels Airlines says Reinshagen will take up his new post on 1 July. He has occupied several roles with Lufthansa Group arms, including Swiss station manager for Frankfurt, managing director of catering operation LSG Dusseldorf, and Lufthansa process and quality manager for Spain and Portugal. Reinshagen left the carrier group in 2017, to become part of the management team at Apple, but returned two years later to head ground operations at Frankfurt. “With his vast experience inside and outside the Lufthansa Group and his strong leadership skills, I am convinced that he will successfully lead our operational teams and contribute to our readiness for future challenges,” says Brussels Airlines chief Peter Gerber.<br/>

THAI will add three Boeing 777-300ERs to its fleet this month in order to meet the growing demand for flights, in light of the relaxed travel restrictions. The airline announced on Thursday that two of the leased aircraft had arrived in Thailand on Wednesday. The remaining jet, it said, will be delivered by the end of the month. The planes will boost the airline's capacity to serve the increasing demand from various markets across the globe, which are starting to pick up thanks to the easing of travel restrictions in most markets, including Thailand. The aircraft are equipped with a state-of-the-art inflight entertainment system, with eight seats in first class, 40 in business and 255 in economy.<br/>