Spirit Airlines has a beef with United Airlines at Newark Liberty International Airport. The discounter has long sought 16 peak-hour runway timings that have gone unused since Southwest Airlines left the airport in 2019, and it’s not taking the major airline’s renewed complaints lying down. “I think United is taking a lot of liberties to blame [us] for their operations at Newark,” Spirit Vice President for Network Planning John Kirby said. United has in recent weeks highlighted poor operations at Spirit, as well as JetBlue Airways, at Newark as having a negative affect on its own operations there. The way it sees it, the smaller competitors are the reason there are too many flights scheduled during peak times, and United is pushing the US FAA to do something about it. United’s broad arguments — that smaller competitors are a problem at congested airports — come from a well-worn playbook used by incumbent airlines the world over. Global airlines use similar arguments to defend their monopoly positions in airports from Frankfurt to Hong Kong and London Heathrow. By their measure, they have built up their slot positions over decades both with and without government help, and should not be forced to shrink simply because a new airline wants access. Story has more.<br/>
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Lufthansa has added two new partnerships to capitalize on business travel’s surprisingly rapid recovery. The airline launched Lufthansa Global Spaces on Wednesday to allow passengers to book desks, offices and conference rooms. The platform integrates into its Miles & More loyalty program so members can earn additional points. And with its eye firmly on the seamless journey, Lufthansa Group launched another solution called BusinessToGo, in partnership with corporate travel agency startup TripActions, also on Wednesday. This platform has been designed for small and medium businesses, and includes access to accommodation, rail, and car rental content, as well as flights. In the spring of last year, Lufthansa made moves to target more leisure travelers. In April 2021 it took a number of steps to adapt to fewer lucrative business travelers flying, and retired long-haul jets with large business and first class cabins. What a difference a year makes, and these latest two partnerships suggest it’s thinking twice about that move. However, the new workspace platform, which was developed by Lufthansa Innovation Hub, Lufthansa Group’s digital innovation unit, and reservation system Hubli will initially only be available for three months as it tests the waters. And just five cities — Berlin, Munich, Barcelona, Singapore and New York — will be available at first.<br/>