Having led Star Alliance from its 20th to its 25th anniversary, Jeffrey Goh, CEO of the largest global airline alliance will be stepping down at the end of the year to pursue other interests. Goh joined Star Alliance as its General Counsel in 2007 from the International Air Transport Association and succeeded as its CEO in 2017. During his management, the Alliance introduced the Connecting Partner Model in 2017 and the industry-first Intermodal Partner Model launched in July 2022 to strengthen its global network. Goh was also responsible for driving the digitalisation and automation of Star Alliance customer products and services including among others a digital connection service, a biometrics solution, improved ability of customers selecting seats on a multi-airline itinerary, and the automation of mileage accrual and redemption across the Alliance. “On behalf of my colleagues across Star Alliance, I thank Jeffrey for his leadership and important contributions to Star Alliance and wish him well in his next endeavors”, said Scott Kirby, United Airlines CEO and Chairman of the Star Alliance Chief Executive Board. An international search will be undertaken shortly for a successor to Goh.<br/>
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SAS and pilot unions have reached a wage deal, the Scandinavian airline confirmed on Tuesday, ending a 15-day strike over a new collective bargaining agreement that had grounded 3,700 flights and put the carrier's future in doubt. Shares in SAS jumped 12% in early morning trade, but then steadied and were up around 4% at 1223 GMT. They are still down about 40% since the beginning of the year. The airline, which filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection on the second day of the strike, said the industrial action had cost it more than $145m to date and affected 380,000 passengers in the peak summer travel season. The deal will allow the airline to finalise plans in the next few weeks to raise $700m of fresh financing needed to see it through the bankruptcy protection process, it said. "The agreement we've made is what you could call an appetizing investment case," SAS Chairman Carsten Dilling told Danish broadcaster TV 2, adding that landing a long-term agreement had been "crucial" for SAS. The airline said the new 5-1/2-year deal with four pilot unions would help it achieve part of the $700 million of annual cost savings set out in a business transformation plan, known as SAS FORWARD, that also includes measures such as handing back unwanted planes to lessors. SAS still needs to "find a couple of hundred million" in annual cost savings to reach its target, Dilling said. Even before the pandemic hit, SAS, which has branded itself as a premium airline, was losing money amid rising competition from low-cost carriers. <br/>
The potential blockbuster deal of this year’s Farnborough air show still hangs in the balance, with Airbus growing more confident it can secure a landmark purchase of about 50 A350 wide-body jets from Air India at the event, and Boeing working on a deal for as many as 150 737 Max jetliners. The Indian carrier is considering Boeing’s narrow-body planes alongside the Airbus A350 jets, as part of a fleet renewal under new owner Tata Group, according to people familiar with the negotiations. Airbus’s long wait time for A320neo delivery slots may constrain its effort to come up with a rival offer for narrow-bodies, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing private deliberations. The discussions are ongoing and the final order tallies could shift, the people said. Airbus is trying to get the widebody deal firmed up at the show, but the carrier may wait with an official announcement until India’s Independence Day on Aug. 15, one person said. Another person said the date of an announcement hasn’t been finalized. Air India recently appointed a chief pilot for the A350, suggesting the airline wants to purchase Airbus’s most advanced aircraft, according to an internal memo. There’s also a small chance of Air India actually unveiling the Boeing side of the deal in Farnborough, said the people. Representatives for Air India declined to comment. Airbus and Boeing declined to comment. Landing a large-scale narrow-body order in India would be a coup for both Boeing and its European arch-rival. Airbus dominates the skies in the country, so any narrow-body win for Boeing would help the US company gain traction in one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets. For Airbus, an A350 deal would also be an important win because the planemaker doesn’t have a single customer there for its widebody jets. IndiGo, operated by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., is the world’s largest customer for the European manufacturer’s best-selling narrowbodies, ordering more than 700. Others including Vistara, Go Airlines India and AirAsia India fly planes from the same family. <br/>