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Deutsche Lufthansa AG formed an operational alliance with flying taxi maker Lilium NV, deepening its ties to the German startup as airlines explore ways to add services with coming electric-powered craft. The memorandum of understanding covers flight operations, aircraft maintenance and crewing for Lilium’s six-passenger craft, which unlike rotor-driven designs is carried aloft by battery powered jets. The companies will also work on airspace integration and vertiport infrastructure, and collaborate with airports in Europe, Lufthansa said Thursday in a statement. The tentative deal follows a 2020 agreement for Lufthansa to help train and qualify pilots to fly the Lilium Jet. Under the new partnership, Lilium will explore offering flights to Lufthansa customers, according to Klaus Roewe, the startup’s CEO. Lilium on Wednesday announced it had kicked off production of the Lilium Jet in Wessling, Germany. Like other major airlines, Lufthansa is forming early links with makers of electric vertical takeoff and landing craft, or eVTOLs. The German carrier separately has a deal to work with Lilium rival Volocopter GmbH on software for urban air mobility. Delta Air Lines said last year it was investing $60m in US-based Joby Aviation to use the electric jet maker’s planes to fly customers to and from airports in New York and Los Angeles. Volocopter similarly reached a 2020 agreement with Japan Airlines, while more recently, private heliport operator Air Chateau International agreed to purchase up to 100 of Archer Aviation’s Midnight eVTOL aircraft.<br/>

Romania’s competition regulator is examining the proposed acquisition of charter carrier Animawings which is currently majority-owned by Greek operator Aegean Airlines. Animawings was established in 2020 and conducts services to various Greek island destinations. It was founded by travel firm Memento Group whose businesses include the tour operator Christian Tour. Aegean originally took a 25% shareholding in the carrier, which uses a number of Aegean’s Airbus A320 aircraft, and then increased its stake to 51% in 2021. The Greek carrier primarily handles operational activity while Memento Group focuses on commercial business.<br/>Romania’s competition regulator, Consiliul Concurentei, says it is assessing a proposed transaction through which Memento Group “intends to take over” Animawings. It has not given full details of the proposal. But the regulator states that it must authorise the operation, and will evaluate it to “establish compatibility with a normal competitive environment” before making its decision.<br/>

Lufthansa Group carrier Swiss has entered an agreement with maintenance provider Turkish Technic to service seven Airbus A330s. Swiss has 14 A330-300s in its long-haul fleet. Vice-president for technical fleet management Claus Bauer says the carrier will “explore the key strategic partners” for maintenance “in the years to come”. He points out that Turkish Airlines, one of Swiss’s Star Alliance partners, operates its own large A330 fleet – around 60 of different variants – and is “experienced” with the type. Bauer adds that Swiss believes the provider will offer “competitive performance”. “Our goal is to foster a trustful partnership that provides value for both parties for a long-term co-operation,” he says. Turkish Technic says the maintenance schedule commenced in November and the entire batch of aircraft will pass through its facilities over the coming months. CTO Yasin Birinci says the company offers “high-quality services” and “reliable turnaround times”. “We believe that this agreement will pave the way for a long-term partnership between both parties,” Birinci adds.<br/>

LOT Polish Airlines will enter the Saudi Arabian market with flights to Riyadh starting next year. From June 4, 2024, the carrier will open service between Poland's Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) and Riyadh’s King Khalid International (RUH). The route will be flown 3X-weekly with a Boeing 737-8 aircraft. Expected flight time is 6 hr. 30 min. Saudi Arabia in June 2023 added the European Union to its e-visa system, a move LOT says helped drive the decision to start the WAW-RUH route. LOT says in a statement that it “seeks to strengthen its position in Central and Eastern Europe, this time … offering new business opportunities on the Arabian Peninsula.”<br/>

Boeing is in advanced talks to sell around 80 wide-body 787 Dreamliner jets to Thai Airways after pulling ahead of Airbus in widely watched fleet renewal talks, industry sources said. Reuters first reported in September that the carrier was boosting its requirements to as many as 80 wide-body jets and 15 smaller ones, sparking a contest between the 787 and A350 for one of the largest recent wide-body orders from Southeast Asia. Boeing and Airbus declined to comment. Thai Airways did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The Thai national carrier is looking to make the most of a post-pandemic travel boom by bolstering regional routes, but there have been some concerns over the ability of planemakers Airbus and Boeing to ramp up output to meet surging demand. Thai Airways began the restructuring of debt worth 400b baht ($11.17b) in 2021.<br/>