Lufthansa has extended its partnership with aviation services firm Swissport at Jomo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi. Swissport has already been offering airline ramp handling and check-in and gate services at the airport for more than 11 years. The latest contract expands this coverage to include air cargo handling and warehousing services. Lufthansa Cargo currently runs flights between East Africa and its hub in Frankfurt. Swissport Kenya managing director Racheal Ndegwa said: “Air cargo handling and warehousing are crucial components of our business, and we are proud to match the needs of Lufthansa Cargo with our operational readiness and world-class facilities here in Nairobi.” Since 1997, Swissport has been offering airport ground and air cargo handling services at Jomo Kenyatta Airport. With a 10,400m² area, the firm’s Nairobi cargo centre handles general cargo in addition to perishables and temperature-sensitive goods such as pharmaceuticals.<br/>
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Turkish Airlines is looking to increase its frequencies from Istanbul to Indonesia via Jakarta and Bali, as well as the possibility of a third city. Speaking to the media during a dinner in Jakarta last week, the airline’s chairman of the board and executive committee, Ahmet Bolad shared that around 150,000 travellers arrived in Istanbul last year. He said: “We currently have 14 flights – nine to Jakarta and five to Bali – per week and the seat load factor on both is (at) 90%. Looking at the potential here, Indonesia is underserved. We want to increase our Jakarta services to (twice) daily, increase the frequency to Bali, and if possible, (to) add a third destination.” Discussions with the Indonesia Ministry of Transportation for more co-operations are currently ongoing. Bolad explained that Istanbul is a beautiful city to visit, and is also a strategic hub to Turkish Airlines’ network of flights to over 300 destinations in more than 120 countries. Indonesia shares a similar history and culture with Turkey, based on its huge population of which a majority are Muslim.<br/>
The airline that connects more countries than any other, Turkish Airlines, has now opened its new lounge in New York at Terminal 1 of John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). With Turkish Airlines operating three daily flights between Istanbul International Airport (IST) and JFK, passengers will be treated to Turkish flair on the ground itself. The newly renovated lounge encompasses Turkish inspiration, on par with the airline's comfort, hospitality, and design. Sitting at nearly 4,600 square feet, it can accommodate up to 140 guests, enough for its business class passengers and status holders. With various seating areas, the lounge is located between gates two and three in Terminal 1, with large windows overlooking the apron and runway. Dark woods, greenery, and mid-century-inspired decor complement it. A prayer room is also available for guests.<br/>
Air India has kicked off financing for a plane order worth tens of billions of dollars by asking leasing companies to submit proposals for sale-leaseback deals, the airline said on Monday as industry executives play down the impact of recent banking-sector turmoil on aviation. Aircraft lessors are expected to play a significant role in financing the Tata-owned airline's aircraft spending spree, worth an estimated $70b or half that after discounts. Air India Chief Executive Campbell Wilson confirmed the airline had gone to the leasing market with a request for jet financing and said he was not worried about financing the orders following its recent takeover by Tata Group. When asked whether Air India had sought lessor bids on the 470-plane plane order, Campbell told Reuters on the sidelines of a CAPA India conference that they had on "portions of it". "Clearly the delivery stream is over quite a number of years. We don't do it all at once." The first few Airbus A350 aircraft, originally sold to Russia's Aeroflot, are due to arrive later this year. Wilson expressed confidence in Air India's ability to fund the orders. "The benefit of having a strong, patient capital provider like Tata does accord us a lot of flexibility." In sale-leaseback deals, lessors buy jets from an airline the moment they are delivered and rent them back - a potentially profitable deal for both sides if conditions work. India's largest airline, IndiGo (INGL.NS), has regularly used the financing tool for the past decade as it built up a large fleet.<br/>
Air travel is on the upswing and carriers are drawing up strategies to capture a larger pie of passenger traffic but issues like shortage of engines and non-availability of flight attendants are forcing airlines to adjust their growth plans. These issues were raised as the aviation industry gathered at the CAPA India Aviation Summit here on Monday. Even though flights on the India-US routes are in high demand, Air India will be operating six fewer weekly flights between these two countries over the next two-three months due to the non-availability of flight attendants for wide-body planes. “The airline hopes to reinstate them (the cancelled flights) in two-three months as the crew get progressively inducted into flying duties,” Air India CEO & MD Campbell Wilson told reporters. The demand has been so high that Air India charged 28.6% higher fares on the India-US routes in the April-November period of 2022, as compared to 2019, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Currently, Air India runs 47 flights a week from India to New York, Newark, Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington DC. It will cut three weekly flights each to Newark and San Francisco. Due to the shortage of flight attendants, some of Air India's flights to Bangkok and Dubai would be operated on Airbus A320 aircraft, instead of the wide-body Boeing 787.<br/>
The Korean Air and Asiana Airlines merger is facing further delays for international approval. The European Union announced that it would be extending its decision date on the proposed acquisition from July 5 to August 3. The combination of Korea’s two largest airlines was originally announced in November 2020 by the Korean government and Korea Development Bank. The deal would be worth more than $600 million. Korean Air will take an approximately 65% stake in Asiana and consolidate the airline.<br/> The European Commission opened an in-depth investigation in February to assess whether the transaction could hurt competition. Preliminary concerns from the first phase of its review addressed the potential antitrust issues for passenger transport and cargo transport services between South Korea and the European Economic Area. Specifically, authorities EC mentioned reduced competition for four direct routes from Incheon to Paris, Frankfurt, Rome, and Barcelona. Korean Air is a member of the SkyTeam alliance. Following the successful completion of the merger, Asiana will become part of SkyTeam and be integrated into Korean Air, making it the world’s seventh-largest airline according to The Korea Times. Asiana is currently a member of the Star Alliance. The transaction sought approval from fourteen regulatory bodies. Korean Air submitted required business combination reports to nine countries in January 2021. Since then, it has received approval from mandatory bodies like Australia, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey, Taiwan, and Vietnam. <br/>