Lufthansa returned to profitability in the second quarter, reporting that its revenue had more than doubled compared with the year before. Group revenue was around E8.5b in the quarter, compared with E3.2b the same period last year, according to preliminary figures released Friday. "The Group benefited from a continuously strong performance at Lufthansa Cargo," the airline said. Adjusted cash flow was reported at around 2 billion euros, boosted by strong demand for bookings and operating profit, it said, adding that net debt is expected to have fallen by a similar amount in the second quarter. Adjusted earnings (EBIT) were between E350 and 400m, compared with a loss of E827m a year earlier, Lufthansa said.<br/>
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Ailing Scandinavian airline SAS and striking pilot unions will resume negotiations on Monday, public broadcaster NRK said, after failing to reach new collective agreements over the weekend. Most SAS pilots in Sweden, Denmark and Norway walked out on July 4 after talks over conditions related to the carrier’s rescue plan collapsed. The parties returned to the negotiating table in the Swedish capital last Wednesday. “We are now going home after 37 hours to get some sleep,” Henrik Thyregod, head of the Danish pilots’ union, said as he left the Stockholm venue where negotiations are held, NRK reported. Norwegian pilot union representative Roger Klokset had said earlier on Sunday that the parties may have come closer to a deal overnight. “Maybe. But I don’t know whether there will be an agreement yet,” he said. SAS, the main owners of which are Sweden and Denmark, had been struggling to compete with low-cost competition for years before the pandemic slammed the industry. It needs to attract new investors and secure bridge financing, saying that it must first slash costs to achieve those objectives. Pilots employed in the 75-year-old carrier’s SAS Scandinavia subsidiary last week said they would agree to limited wage cuts and less favourable terms, but SAS said the concessions offered were not enough for it to carry out a rescue plan announced in February.<br/>
Air New Zealand is extending its COVID flexibility policy until the end of August after thousands of Kiwis took advantage of it to delay their travel. As winter illness sets in, more than 20,000 of the airline's customers opted to stay home during the school holidays, making use of the policy. The airline's CEO Greg Foran said over the last week around 57,000 customers had been in touch, with many calling to change travel plans. "It's not just COVID, it's the winter flu and weather disrupting plans," Foran said. "That's why we've chosen to extend our COVID flexibility policy through to 31 August. Customers can opt into credit or make a change to their booking with change fees waived, whatever the reason. No questions asked." Foran said more than 130,000 customers were travelling both domestically and internationally this weekend. "It's our busiest period in two years and we're all hands-on deck. We've had our office-based staff helping out cleaning aircraft and assisting at our airports in peak times to support customers and our frontline. There's no doubt it's a challenging time for everyone." <br/>