Star Alliance, winner of the world’s best airline alliance and best alliance lounge at Skytrax, is now offering pay-per-use access to the Star Alliance lounge at Rome Fiumicino (FCO) airport. Besides providing complimentary access for eligible customers, the lounge will now also welcome other Star Alliance passengers regardless of membership status or cabin class, for a nominal fee. This is the fourth of six Star Alliance-branded lounges to offer paid access, after the Star Alliance lounges in Rio De Janeiro (GIG) Airport, Buenos Aires’ Ezeiza International Airport (EZE), and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Star Alliance’s Rome Fiumicino airport lounge is located in the Intra-Schengen zone in Terminal 3 of FCO. It welcomes passengers of all flights operated by Star Alliance members from Fiumicino Airport, and is particularly convenient for customers travelling within the European Schengen Zone. The tastefully designed lounge offers a view of the runway and features Italian designer furniture and art evoking the culture and atmosphere of Rome’s iconic landmarks and city scenes. Italian culinary delights, as well as a round-the-clock bar serving aromatic Italian coffee and other beverages, complete the experience. The lounge offers high-speed WiFi internet access and is well-equipped to cater to both business and leisure travellers. It can accommodate up to 130 guests. Star Alliance VP Customer Experience Christian Draeger said: “Whether you’re leaving Rome after business meetings, or after visits to the Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel and Trevi Fountain, there’s no better way to relax than a trip to our stylish Star Alliance lounge at the airport. “We’re excited to make this experience accessible to even more passengers, by opening up paid access to our lounge at Fiumicino Airport. Pre-booking of lounge access vouchers is also easy, with our simple, online process.”<br/>
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United Airlines expects to transport 8.3m passengers during the end-of-year holiday travel season, almost 2m more than last year. The Chicago-based company predicts on 14 December it will operate nearly 3,700 flights daily during the period, a level of activity close to pre-pandemic levels and greater than during the traditionally hectic Thanksgiving period last month. Chicago O’Hare International airport will be the airline’s busiest hub, with an average of 410 flights every day, followed by United’s hubs in Denver, Newark and Houston, it says. The airline predicts 2 January will be its busiest day, with an expected 480,000 customers travelling on United jets. “Thanks to remote work, the holiday travel period is getting longer and demand is less concentrated on peak days,” the company says. “The days right before Christmas and around New Year’s Day are still the busiest – but flights on off-peak days are booking fuller compared to 2019.” According to the US TSA, which handles security checkpoints at about 450 airports across the country, the busiest travel day in 2022 so far was 27 November, the Sunday after the Thanksgiving holiday, with 2,560,623 passengers screened. Earlier this week, United announced an order for up to 300 new Boeing jets as it sees strong growth through the rest of the decade. The company ordered 100 787s and took options to purchase 100 more, in what it calls the largest-ever widebody order by a US carrier. In addition, it ordered another 100 737 Max aircraft – the conversion of 44 options, to be delivered between 2024 and 2026, and 56 additional orders for delivery between 2027 and 2028. CE Scott Kirby said the airline hired 15,000 new employees in 2022, of which 2,400 are pilots. It plans to hire 2,500 more pilots in 2023, with the goal of adding 10,000 pilots this decade. In addition, more than 18,000 new flight attendants will join the company in the coming years, as will more than 7,000 maintenance technicians by 2026, United said.<br/>
United faces an imperfect fleet trade off in the coming years due to lack of new-production aircraft with capabilities comparable to the airline’s ageing Boeing 757-300s. That is according to the carrier’s CCO Andrew Nocella, who says market conditions have forced United to plan to replace its 757s with 737 Max 10s and Airbus A321neos. The carrier has said it will retire its 757s this decade. “That’s… not a trade we are excited to make,” Nocella says on 13 December. He spoke in North Charleston, South Carolina after an event marking United’s order for another 100 737 Max and 100 787s. Nocella says those jets will enable United to embark on significant further expansion. Last month, Boeing made clear it will not develop a new narrowbody aircraft any time soon. The news came after Boeing had been studying designs that included a 757 replacement – known in the industry as the “New Mid-market Airplane”. Some airline executives had been urging Boeing to develop the jet, saying the other replacement options – A321neos and 737 Max 10s – lack the 757’s capabilities. “There is nothing coming,” says United’s Nocella. The airline operates 32 757-200s and 21 757-300s, Cirium fleets data shows. Nocella previously said 757-300s, in particular, have performance characteristics unmatched by the new-generation aircraft. The type has range exceeding 3,000nm (5,556km) and, in United’s configuration, carries 234 seats. The smaller 757-200 has more range but fewer seats – 169 and 176 in United’s two configurations, according to its website. Boeing’s 737 Max 10 has 3,300nm of range and can carry 188-204 passengers. A321neos carry about 190 passengers, and Airbus says its in-development A321XLR variant will have 4,700nm of range.<br/>
Lufthansa expects to reach 87% of its pre-crisis flights out of Frankfurt and Munich next summer after unveiling a flying programme featuring seven new routes including the Northern Irish capital Belfast. The German carrier will serve Belfast City airport from Frankfurt beginning 23 April. It will operate the route four times a week. It marks the only direct service between Northern Ireland and Germany, which was last connected by a Ryanair Berlin service operated before the pandemic. Lufthansa is also launching twice-daily flights from Frankfurt to London Gatwick. It restores a connection operated briefly by the airline between 2011 and 2013, and will add to its existing Frankfurt services to London’s City and Heathrow airports. Other new Lufthansa short-haul routes includes Asturias situated on Spain’s Atlantic coast, which it will serve from both its Frankfurt and Munich hubs. It is also adding Frankfurt routes to Biarritz in France and the Macedonian capital Skopje, as well as a Munich service to French city Bordeaux.<br/>
Ethiopian Airlines wants to almost double its fleet over the next 12 years and expand its global network to better compete with Gulf rivals between Asia, the Americas, and Europe, according to CEO Mesfin Tasew. He said that the state-owned carrier plans to grow its fleet to more than 270 aircraft by 2035 versus 140 now, to cover 200 airports worldwide. If successful, this new growth strategy could generate annual sales of US$25b from passenger and freight operations, up fivefold on 2021 sales. Revenues are expected to grow by 20% in the coming fiscal year ending in June 2023 from US$4.8b in 2021, with a profit target of US$600m based on rising passenger numbers. Ethiopian Airlines is to looking to compete with Qatar Airways and Emirates, which are themselves growing in Africa. Alongside Emirates and Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways controls a significant chunk of the African long-haul market via its hub at Doha Hamad Int'l. The airline is eyeing closer collaboration with RwandAir and has invested in the new airport in Kigali.<br/>