United Airlines has agreed to a $30m settlement after a deplaning incident left a quadriplegic man in a vegetative state, court papers show. The settlement with the family of Nathaniel Foster Jr, known as N.J., was disclosed on Tuesday in San Francisco federal court, and reached after one day of trial. It arose from the treatment of Foster, who had been using a wheelchair, ventilator and tracheal tube, as he and his family were disembarking from a Feb. 8, 2019 United Express flight to Monroe, Louisiana, where they had traveled to attend a funeral. The family said a ramp supervisor "aggressively" and "forcefully" pushed Foster, causing his body to jerk forward and then slouch back, with his feet dragging along the floor. According to a complaint, Foster's mother sought help after she heard him whisper "I can't breathe," but a gate agent "giggled" and told a surgeon who offered help "we got this," prompting him to sit down. Foster then went into cardiac arrest. Now 26, Foster has "significant" brain damage, cannot speak or eat solid foods, and is expected to live to age 31-1/2, down from 39 before the incident, court papers show. The settlement requires court approval, and is "fair and reasonable" according to the plaintiffs. They have been caring for Foster at their home in Pleasant Hill, California. "Our top priority is to provide a safe journey for all our customers, especially those who require additional assistance or the use of a wheelchair," United said in a statement Wednesday. "We are pleased to share that this matter has settled."<br/>
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Tap Air Portugal has been voted as Europe’s favourite airline for the sixth year running at the ninth edition of the US Trazee Awards. The nomination of ‘Europe’s Favourite Airline’ recognises TAP as the most popular commercial carrier among North American tourists, in recognition of its excellent onboard product and service. The trazeetravel.com magazine awards ceremony took place this week in Dallas, United States, alongside the annual convention of the Global Business Travel Association. With more than 500,000 readers, Global Traveler connects brands with US-based frequent travellers. The magazine’s readers take an average of 18 domestic flights a year and 96% travel abroad regularly, mainly in first and business class. More than 83% look for 4 and 5-star hotels, with an average of 80 nights a year. TAP offers a range of popular long-haul routes to key destinations across Africa and the Americas with more flights to Brazil than any other European carrier. <br/>
For the first time All Nippon Airways will operate Boeing 787-10s on its domestic network, with the type progressively replacing 777s that will be phased out. In a network update issued 22 August, the Star Alliance carrier says the -10s will first operate flights between Tokyo’s Haneda airport and Fukuoka, as well as Sapporo, from February 2024. The 787-10s will be configured to seat 429 passengers in two classes: 28 in ‘Premium’ class, and 401 in economy class. It is the second highest seat count in an ANA domestic jet, after the 777-300, which has 514 seats in two classes. ANA’s domestic 787-8s and -9s seat between 335 and 395 passengers. According to Cirium fleets data, the airline has three Rolls-Royce Trent 1000-powered 787-10s in service now, operating international flights. It has another 11 examples on order. ANA says it will take delivery of the remaining 11 aircraft – likely to be domestic-configured examples – by fiscal 2026, which starts 1 April 2026. The airline is phasing out its 777s in favour of the 787s, which it says provide better fuel-efficiency and noise reduction. In 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the carrier announced large-scale aircraft retirements, including its 777s. As at end-March, the large aircraft fleet stood at 33 aircraft, half of pre-pandemic numbers. In fleet plans disclosed in February this year, ANA said the 787 fleet will have a significant presence in the future fleet. By 2030, parent company ANA Holdings expects to have at least 100 Boeing 787s by 2030, or about 35% of the group’s total fleet. ANA has 40 787-9s and 36 -8s in service. It also holds orders for eight -9s. <br/>
Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran says while the airline is working to bring airfares down, travellers shouldn’t expect a return to pre-pandemic prices. The airline on Thursday posted an annual profit of NZ$412m, while also announcing an order for new aircraft that it said would add 768,000 seats a year. The new aircraft, which would arrive from late 2024, included two 68-seat ATR72-600 turboprops to be used on regional routes, and two 214-seat Airbus A321neo aircraft to be used on Tasman and Pacific Island routes. Foran said flying continued to be in high demand, which meant prices had been higher than usual. He said the airline’s fares had increased between 30 and 35% on average since Covid. “The most effective thing we can do to help customers is to welcome more aircraft into our fleet and put more seats in the sky.” However, he said while adding more seats played an important part in working to reduce prices, the business was still dealing with rising costs across many areas, from spare parts and new aircraft to dry cleaning and airport charges – all of which contributed to higher airfares. “We’re not going to go back to 2019 levels – I want to be clear about that.” But he used North America as an example of where they were expecting to see some easing, with an influx of airlines from November set to increase capacity by 40%. Foran also emphasised that if travellers booked early, they would still find fares available some “pretty good” prices.<br/>
Air New Zealand has ordered two ATR 72-600s and two Airbus A321neos which will enter the carrier’s fleet from late 2024. The carrier included the order announcement in its results statement for the 2023 financial year to 30 June, in which it swung to a pre-tax profit of NZ585m ($349m) on surging revenues. “Today we also announced an order for two new ATR turboprop aircraft for regional routes, as well as two new Airbus A321neos for our international short-haul network,” says Air NZ CE Greg Foran. “That’s in addition to the existing domestic Airbus A321neo orders, and the eight new Boeing 787 Dreamliners we have coming into the fleet as we retire our Boeing 777-300s over time.” He adds that the business class cabin of the carrier’s 14 787-9s will be updated with the first retrofit starting in 2025. Overall, the carrier will add 16 new aircraft between 2024-28. As of 30 June, the airline operated 106 aircraft: seven Boeing 777-300ERs, 14 787-9s, 17 A320s, 16 A320/A321neos, 29 ATR72-600s, and 23 Bombardier Q300s. From 2024, the carrier will lease an additional 777-300ER, taking its total of the type to eight. From 2024-28, it will also add a pair of 787-9s annually. By its 2028 financial year, Air NZ aims to have a fleet of 111 aircraft: 22 787-9/10s, 35 A320 family aircraft, 31 ATR 72s, and 23 Q300s.<br/>