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United Airlines came up with a simple way to avoid delays and it has everything to do with being more efficient with the things it can control. So far, the airline says this change has saved its passengers over 13m minutes of delays. Here's how: If you've ever been sitting on an airplane when the pilot comes over the PA system to tell you that they are just waiting on maintenance to finish paperwork after fixing something, you know how frustrating it can be. There's a reason for all of the processes and procedures that come with maintaining an aircraft. It's ultimately all about safety. Finishing that paperwork meant filling out actual paper forms, known as maintenance release documents (MRD), signing them with ink, and getting them to the pilot in the cockpit. All of that takes extra time, even though the maintenance is already finished. In many cases, it takes as much as 10 minutes. That adds up. United, however, says it is the first and only airline to receive FAA approval to digitize its MRDs. Its maintenance crew use iPads to complete paperwork and then sign it digitally using the TouchID sensor. The MRD is then transferred to the pilots' devices. This seems like such an obvious and simple way to use technology to make the overall experience better. To be fair, changing the process wasn't nearly as simple as I'm making it sound, but the end result is a much more simple way to handle what was otherwise a cumbersome process. The airline had to work with the FAA to gain approval to stop using paper MRDs, but the effort is worthwhile when you consider the impact on its customers and employees.<br/>

Air Canada will cover the cost of a new wheelchair after a disability advocate found hers damaged following a flight to an accessibility conference in September. Maayan Ziv says the airline confirmed the news to her via email Wednesday — more than two weeks since the wheelchair was assessed for damage, and almost two months since the whole ordeal started. "This is the bare minimum that they are doing," said Ziv, who lives in Toronto. CBC News first told Ziv's story last month not long after she found out her wheelchair was damaged. While getting the airline to replace the wheelchair is a start, Ziv says her fight doesn't end here. The AccessNow CEO says she'll spend the coming weeks or months finding the parts and customizing her new wheelchair, and make do with a replacement that leaves her fatigued and in pain. After going public with her story, Canada's federal minister of disability inclusion promised to meet with the airline and the federal transportation watchdog, the Canadian Transportation Agency, to help reform air travel for people with disabilities, calling Ziv's situation a "long-standing problem" of airlines mistreating mobility devices.<br/>

Turkiye's national flag carrier Turkish Airlines launched direct flights from Istanbul Airport to the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Thursday, Anadolu News Agency reports. Thanks to the Turkish Airlines flight, Kirkuk International Airport also hosted the first international flight and opened its doors to the whole world. Iraqi Transport Minister, Nasser Hussein Al-Shibli, inaugurated the first-ever international airport in Kirkuk on Sunday. Turkish Airlines will offer Istanbul-Kirkuk flights four days a week, as of December onwards. Kirkuk is Turkish Airline's sixth destination in Iraq after Erbil, Basra, Baghdad, Sulaymaniyah and Najaf, bringing the number of destinations in its network to 341.<br/>

Air Serbia and Turkish Airlines will expand their partnership, with the two carriers to boost operations between Belgrade and Istanbul, Ankara and Belgrade, as well as launch scheduled services between Izmir and Belgrade. This coming winter season, Air Serbia will boost operations to Turkey’s largest city, from the current ten weekly flights to seventeen weekly rotations, which will be complemented by Turkish Airlines’ triple daily service. The gradual increase in frequencies will commence on November 7. During the 2023 summer season, which begins on March 26 of next year, there will be a total of 42 weekly flights between the two cities by the two carriers, with Air Serbia maintaining 21 weekly operations and its Turkish counterpart the same number of weekly frequencies. Focusing beyond Istanbul, Air Serbia will expand its codeshare partnership with Turkish Airlines’ regional brand AnadoluJet, with flights between Ankara and Belgrade set to double from two to four per week. <br/>

Lufthansa predicted demand for travel will remain strong in coming months as the desire to travel in the wake of the pandemic outweighs concerns about higher cost of living and the uncertain economic future. The airline group said demand for flights in Q4 looks strong, adding it also expects a robust performance for its maintenance and cargo divisions in the period. Bookings for the final quarter are running ahead of the levels seen for the same quarter in 2019, just before the pandemic tipped global aviation into an unprecedented downturn. “The Lufthansa Group has economically left the pandemic behind and is looking optimistically into the future,” CEO Carsten Spohr said. The carrier’s upbeat commentary during what is normally one of the most muted booking periods of the year suggests the industry is “confounding fears of a macro-driven slowdown even as Europeans turn the heating on,” said Bernstein analyst Alex Irving. Lufthansa rose as much as 3%, or 20 cents, to 6.85 euros in Frankfurt trading. The stock has gained 10% this year. Lufthansa spent much of the peak holiday season battling disruption at its hubs as bookings surged, yet cancellations due to strikes and staff shortages pushed up ticket prices, lifting margins. Yields, a measure of airline profitability, rose 23% in the third quarter compared to the same period 2019, hitting a record. The airline’s strong bookings come despite mounting signs of a slowdown in the company’s home European markets. A blend of high inflation and rising interest rates, as well as concerns over Russia’s war in Ukraine have dented consumer and business confidence.<br/>