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United Airlines threatened to suspend service at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport unless federal regulators review runway use and allow the carrier to increase daily operations. The airport’s total flight capacity hasn’t changed since 2008, despite a widening of runways and other infrastructure improvements, United told employees in a memo about its plan Tuesday. The airline, which has two daily flights between Los Angeles and JFK, and two shuttling back and forth to San Francisco, said it would suspend operations at the end of October without more slots. “That would obviously be a tough and frustrating step to take and one that we have worked really hard to prevent,” the carrier said. United resumed service at JFK in 2021 and said it has made repeated requests to the Federal Aviation Administration to expand operations. United leased the rights to 40 daily takeoffs and landings at JFK to Delta Air Lines Inc. in two transactions in 2014 and 2015, when it left the airport to consolidate transcontinental flying at its nearby Newark, New Jersey, hub. The long-term nature of the leases means United has no access to them for the foreseeable future, the carrier said. Delta didn’t immediately comment on the leases after normal business hours. Any new flights added at JFK would have to be distributed “fairly,” the FAA said, meaning there would be no guarantee that United would receive additional slots. “The FAA continually looks for ways to increase the efficiency of airspace in busy metropolitan areas safely,” the FAA said. “The agency must consider airspace capacity and runway capacity to assess how changes would affect flights at nearby airports.”<br/>

Lufthansa and pilots' union VC said on Tuesday they had reached a deal in a wage dispute, averting a second strike that had been planned for later this week. The agreement comes after a strike at Lufthansa last week forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights, further plaguing a summer of travel chaos. The Vereinigung Cockpit pilots' union said it had agreed the basis of a comprehensive package of monetary and structural issues which would be fleshed out in the next few days. It gave no further details but said it was sufficient for a strike due to begin on Wednesday to be called off. "We are pleased that a result was reached at the negotiating table and that further disruption for customers, employees and companies could be avoided," said Marcel Groels, responsible for the union's collective bargaining policy. "Today important first steps have been taken towards a long-term cooperation," he said. Passenger plane pilots had been due to strike on Wednesday and Thursday, and cargo pilots from Wednesday through Friday, according to the union, which groups more than 5,000 pilots. Lufthansa, which had earlier said it would make an improved offer on Tuesday, said the agreement meant flights could take place as planned in the next few days.<br/>

Lufthansa is planning to hire nearly 20,000 new employees by the end of 2023 as the aviation industry recovers from the pandemic, according to CE Carsten Spohr. During the pandemic, which paralysed air traffic worldwide, the flagship carrier shrank to around 100,000 employees from just under 140,000, causing operational problems this summer in some locations where too many staff had been cut. A Lufthansa spokesperson added that 12,000 of the positions would be completely new while roughly 8,000 would be to replace employees who were leaving the company. Spohr told a news briefing on Monday night that July and August had been fantastic for the airline and “we have no plans to leave the profitability we achieved in the second quarter.” However, the airline won’t be back at pre-crisis capacity levels next year, he said, with an eye on a looming recession that will likely hit Germany harder than other countries.<br/>

German logistics entrepreneur Klaus-Michael Kuehne, the biggest shareholder in Lufthansa , is planning to buy additional shares in the airline, he said on Tuesday. “Our interest in Deutsche Lufthansa AG remains high,” Kuehne said, adding he was aiming to “acquire further Lufthansa shares when there is an opportunity. Kuehne owns 15.01% of Lufthansa, which earlier on Tuesday reached a deal with pilots’ union VC in a wage dispute and averted a strike planned later this week. <br/>

Crisis-hit Scandinavian airline SAS sees savings of $200m through 2026 from a new collective bargaining deal reached with most of its pilots following a crippling two-week strike in July. The flag carrier, pressured for years by low-cost rivals and ravaged by the pandemic, in February announced a big restructuring plan, and on the second day of the strike sought US bankruptcy protection. "The cost savings of approximately $200m through 2026 provided for in the New CLA's (collective labour agreements) are an essential component of the SAS FORWARD plan," lawyers representing SAS said in a document filed Sept. 3 to the bankruptcy court. SAS in July said the deal landed with pilots would help it achieve part of the $700 million of annual cost savings set out in the restructuring plan known as SAS FORWARD."The cost savings of approximately $200m through 2026 provided for in the New CLA's (collective labour agreements) are an essential component of the SAS FORWARD plan," lawyers representing SAS said in a document filed Sept. 3 to the bankruptcy court. SAS in July said the deal landed with pilots would help it achieve part of the $700m of annual cost savings set out in the restructuring plan known as SAS FORWARD.<br/>

Ethiopian Airlines is keen to expand its lead in the African aviation market with plans for new aircraft to meet rising travel demand. The Addis Ababa-based Star Alliance carrier expects passenger numbers to surpass 2019 levels during the year ending in June 2023, group CEO Mesfin Tasew Bekele said at a luncheon in Washington, D.C., on September 2. With the passenger recovery in sight, the airline plans to restart an aircraft order campaign for a roughly 100-seat plane that was paused in early 2020 when the pandemic hit. The aircraft, which Bekele said will be either the Airbus A220-100 or Embraer E195-E2, are needed to Ethiopian’s traffic growth forecasts. “We are going to finalize our evaluation” of a 100-seat aircraft, he said. Bekele hinted that the A220 “best fits Ethiopian Airlines’ market,” and that Airbus had provided the best commercial terms. An A220 order from Ethiopian would further expand the plane’s growing dominance of the 100-seat aircraft market. Owing to its small size and low costs it proved one of the more popular planes for airlines’ to fly during the pandemic, and coming out of the crisis has racked up a number of new orders. New commitments have come from existing operators, like Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways, and from new customers, including ITA Airways and Qantas. If Ethiopian ordered the A220, it would join the likes of Air Tanzania and EgyptAir operating the jet in Africa.<br/>

Thai Airways International (THAI) is aiming to make a comeback and reach a top 10 global ranking for airlines. Story recaps the airline's descent to bankruptcy protection in 2020 and explains THAI's attempts to turn things around. What happened to THAI in 2020? THAI filed for bankruptcy protection in May 2020 at the Central Bankruptcy Court. The anticipated move came after the formerly stateowned enterprise received cabinet approval to undergo a rehabilitation process. The airline was mired in financial woes for a number of years. A Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) filing revealed THAI's assets tallied 256 billion baht at the end of 2019 and its debt-to-equity ratio skyrocketed to 21:1. The firm's financial struggle was exacerbated by the pandemic, with strict air travel regulations leading the airline to suspend flights as tourism disappeared. THAI's earnings report in the first half of 2020 showed a major loss of 28 billion baht. Initially the government planned to bail out THAI, but it faced severe criticism from the public. The cabinet later insisted it avoided throwing a financial lifeline to the airline because it needed the money for relief schemes to ease the impact of Covid-19 shutdowns, aiming to reinvigorate the economy. The court-dictated rehab in 2020 reduced the Finance Ministry's majority stake in THAI and cost the airline its state enterprise status, but it saved THAI from creditors. How does the airline restructure its massive debt? The airline received the go-ahead for its original rehabilitation plan from the Central Bankruptcy Court in mid-June 2021 to restructure its 400-billion-baht debt. Story has more.<br/>