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United Airlines and its pilots union, the Air Line Pilots Association, remain at odds over pay rates in a new contract, even as talks drag in the face of progress at many of the carrier’s competitors. “The points of disagreement are largely economic,” the negotiating committee at the United chapter of ALPA told pilots in a memo Monday viewed by Airline Weekly. “The degree that they lag our competition is a gap we must close.” The committee added that, while the airline has agreed to improvements on many items of disagreement, their offer still “trail our peers.” “We continue to work with the Air Line Pilots Association to reach an industry-leading labor agreement for our world-class aviators,” a United spokesperson said. Over the past few months, executives at the airline have mostly declined to comment on the talks in order to “respect” the negotiating process. Pilots at Delta ratified a new four-year contract that includes roughly $7b in economic value for pilots, including 34% pay increases, on March 1. The accord has already set the standard for new agreements at American Airlines and United, which have promised their own cockpit crew members “industry-leading” contracts. American and its pilots union, the Allied Pilots Association, are reportedly near an agreement that would at least match Delta’s pay rates. Southwest Airlines is also in contract talks with its pilots union, the Southwest Airlines Pilot Association.<br/>

Greece's tourism season is starting to take shape in 2023 after Air Canada resumed direct flights to Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" as there were no direct flights from Canada to the Greek capital until recently. The direct Air Canada flights will depart from Montreal and Toronto for Athens International Airport (AIA) every day. The first direct flight from Toronto arrived in Athens on 27 March and that from Montreal arrived at AIA on 28 March. Under the existing schedule, the flights will run through 26 November 2023. As Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias noted during an official event at AIA, the Canadian market was among the top 10 for AIA in 2022 and one of the most important for the airport, the city, and the country.<br/>

Avianca has helped relocate over 100,000 passengers that had tickets with Viva Air and Ultra Air, the two Colombian carriers that ceased operations in February and March. In a statement, Avianca updated on its rescue scheme, which has been going on for over a month.<br/>The cease of operations of Viva Air and Ultra Air left thousands of passengers stranded across Colombia. This crisis got out of hand, and even the Colombian air forces had to pitch in. Last week, the country’s president put the entire fleet of the air force at disposition to help travelers return home. Avianca set a passenger rescue plan since the end of February after Viva Air announced its temporary cease of operations. The airline began helping passengers with a valid flying ticket with Viva Air so they could get to their final destination. Nonetheless, after Ultra Air also announced its bankruptcy in late March, Avianca extended and expanded its rescue plan to accommodate Ultra Air’s stranded travelers. On Tuesday, Avianca said that it had relocated over 101,600 passengers and operated 64 additional flights since February 28. It had given priority to the regional connectivity across Colombia. Of the 101,600 relocated passengers, over 91,000 have been on domestic routes and 10,600 on international routes. About 92,900 of the passengers had tickets with Viva Air, and 8,700 with Ultra.<br/>

Wizz Air and Lufthansa were the only two carriers to apply for a renewed public call issued by the Macedonian Ministry for Transport and Communications for the provision of financial support for the introduction of new European routes from Skopje and Ohrid airports up until December 30, 2025. It comes after the previous tender was annulled due to errors with documentation submitted by the applicants. Last time around Wizz Air, Lufthansa and Aegean Airlines all submitted bids, however, the Greek national carrier did not partake this time around. Under the terms outlined in the public call, airlines must maintain flights to newly launched destinations at least twice per week throughout the year for the duration of the financial assistance, develop a plan for marketing and promotion and submit a report on its operations to the Ministry of Transport and Communications every six months The Ministry will now select the winner based on the number of weekly flights offered on the new routes, the volume of passengers at the destination airport (the busier the airport the greater the chance of the route being subsidised), as well as the amount of offered capacity. Funding will not be provided for routes from Skopje which have been operated from the airport in the past two seasons (summer and winter), nor from Ohrid if they have been operated either from the lakeside city or the Macedonian capital over the past two seasons.<br/>

Air India on Monday said it has introduced refreshed inflight food and beverages menus across cabins on all international flights. “The refresh of the menus is based on guest feedback and is designed to offer travellers an assortment of gourmet meals, trendy appetizers, decadent desserts, and showcase India’s locally sourced culinary influence while keeping in line with the healthy eating trend,” the airline said in a release. Besides, the bar menu has been revamped, that includes Laurent-Perrier La Cuvée Brut champagne, wines from the vineyards of Château de l’Hestrange, Les Oliviers, Chateau Milon, and Piedmont region of Northern Italy. The new beverages menu also features a range of whiskeys, gin, vodka, and beers of premium brands, the release said. “Our underlying focus while designing the new menus has been on ensuring that they include nutritious options that are delicious, and on incorporating contemporary, sustainable practices,” Sandeep Verma, Head of Inflight Services, Air India, said.<br/>