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Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline alliance, today inaugurated its second lounge at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. Starting October 13, it will welcome First and Business Class passengers and Star Alliance Gold status customers on member airline flights departing from gates 10 to 38 in Terminal 1. Eligible United Club and Air Canada Maple Leaf Club members may also access the lounge. The new lounge is conveniently located airside after immigration and security controls in the newest part of the terminal. The sprawling but intimate space can accomodate over 300 guests across approximately 1,300 square meters. It has been designed by the leading architecture firm, Gensler, which also designed the award-winning Star Alliance Los Angeles airport lounge in 2013. Star Alliance CEO Theo Panagiotoulias said: “Star Alliance stands for elevating the experience of its member airline passengers, and airport lounges play a vital role. We’re very proud to present our new Paris lounge, which is not only a delight to experience but also thoughtfully designed to meet the needs of the modern frequent traveller.” With great runway views, the lounge offers ample natural light with a glass façade running across its length, giving a sense of further largeness to the space. It continues the design tradition of uniting the evolving desires of today’s travellers with an ambience inspired by the local touch of the destination. The space is enriched by local brands and artists for the quintessential French charm. Reminiscent of the timeless Parisian aesthetics with wall mouldings and archways, decorated with captivating black and white photographs of the Eiffel Tower, and furnished with meticulously selected pieces by French artists, the lounge promises a visual delight like no other. Standout features include a stunningly designed Welcome Bar offering a range of beverages, an immersive Wine Bar featuring master wine maker Gerard Bertrand and their wines from the South of France, and a Tea Salon offering an assortment from around the world. For business travellers who prefer a quieter space, there are private work cabins and secluded nooks throughout the lounge. “Our new Paris lounge expands the count of Star Alliance branded lounges to seven worldwide and takes the airport lounge experience to new heights,” said Christian Draeger, Star Alliance’s Vice President for Customer Experience. “Whether it is the design, décor or the F&B experience, we have carefully curated the lounge for a multi-sensorial experience for guests departing from the dazzling city of Paris.” Release has more.<br/>

Star Alliance has opened a new premium lounge at Paris CDG, providing a luxurious and relaxing space for premium passengers with French artwork, a wine bar, and a Winter Garden. The lounge is designed to offer a multi-sensory experience for travelers departing from Paris, expanding Star Alliance's portfolio to seven branded lounges worldwide. The new lounge in Terminal 1 will serve international passengers, while the existing lounge will cater to intra-Schengen flights and paid-access customers.<br/>

Star Alliance has opened a new lounge at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. Located in Terminal 1, the 1,300-sqm lounge will be open to First and Business Class passengers and Star Alliance Gold status customers on member airlines from Friday 13 October. Eligible United Club and Air Canada Maple Leaf Club members can also access the lounge. The space can accommodate more than 300 guests and features a wine bar, a tea salon and private work cabins for business travellers. There’s also an outdoor courtyard, shower suites and “secluded nooks” throughout the lounge. The airline alliance now operates two lounges at Paris CDG Terminal 1. ­The latest addition, located airside after immigration and security controls in the newest part of the terminal, will serve travellers departing from gates 10 to 38. The pre-existing lounge, refurbished in 2019 and located prior to security on level 10, will now serve passengers departing on intra-Schengen flights from gates 50 to 78, as well as travellers from various lounge access programmes departing from all gates. Currently, 20 Star Alliance member carriers operate from Paris CDG.<br/>

Boeing intends to use a 737 Max 10 to evaluate the environmental effects of burning sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), including its impact on contrail formation. The US airframer will undertake the project with assistance from NASA and United Airlines, which intends eventually to take delivery of the Max 10 used for the SAF trials, Boeing said on 12 October. The Max is one of two technology test aircraft Boeing calls ecoDemonstrators. “The researchers aim to understand how advanced fuels, engine combustor designs and other technologies may reduce atmospheric warming,” Boeing says. “For example, tests will assess how SAF affects the characteristics of contrails. While their full impact is not yet understood, some research has suggested certain contrails can trap heat in the atmosphere.” The aviation industry is banking on using more SAF to reduce its carbon output in the face of intense social and governmental pressure. Burning SAF produces as little as 15% of the “lifecycle” carbon dioxide emissions produced by burning conventional fossil-based fuel, according to the fuel’s proponents, although other sources say SAF’s CO2-cutting benefit might be significantly less than advertised. Researchers also think contrails, which develop when the water vapour in jet engine exhaust cools and forms ice crystals, also cause atmospheric warming. NASA has concluded that burning SAF produces less soot than burning traditional jet fuel, in turn resulting in fewer contrail-forming ice crystals. During the flight tests, the 737 Max 10 will carry 100% SAF in one fuel tank and conventional jet fuel in the other. The team will alternate which fuel the engines burn. NASA’s Douglas DC-8 “Airborne Science Laboratory” will follow the 737 Max 10 and “measure emissions produced by each type of fuel and contrail ice particles”, Boeing says. Images of the contrails will also be taken by NASA satellites. Partner United Airlines has also been an eager proponent of using SAF to reduce its carbon output. Other programme participants include the Federal Aviation Administration, which is helping fund the effort, engine partner GE Aerospace and Germany’s DLR aerospace research centre, which will assist with instrumentation. GE Aerospace co-owns CFM International, which supplies the 737 Max’s Leap-1B engines.<br/>

Lufthansa on Thursday extended its suspension of flights to Israel until Oct. 22 over security concerns, the company said. The airlines of the Lufthansa group, which apart from Lufthansa include Swiss, Austrian and Brussels Airlines, are suspending flights to Israel for a longer period of time. "Safety is the top priority for the Lufthansa group airlines," the company said. The airline also said it was continuing to communicate with Germany's foreign office regarding possible additional flights to bring Germans home from Israel. The first four repatriation flights left for Tel Aviv on Thursday, and four more are planned for Friday. Lufthansa airlines normally have 17 flights to Israel per day in their schedule. Most other airlines have also suspended connections to the country in response to attacks by the Islamist organization Hamas.<br/>

Turkish Airlines has announced that it carried 7.9m passengers with an increase of 9.2% in September 2023. Passenger and cargo traffic results for the month saw an increase in passenger capacity by 8.9% compared to that of 2022, and total load factor of 84.9% while carrying 7.9m passengers. The number of passengers increased by 9.2% compared to the same period of 2022 and reached 7.9m. International load factor was 84.6% while domestic load factor was 87.3%. Number of international passengers increased by 14.6% from 2.3m in 2022 to 2.7m in this period. Available seat kilometres (ASK), increased by 8.9% to 21.1b during the period of September 2023 from 19.3b for the same period of 2022. Cargo/mail carried during the period of September 2023 increased by 3.4% to 150.3 thousand tonnes from 145.4 thousand tonnes in the same period of 2022.<br/>