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Up to 200,000 passengers on Lufthansa will have their flights cancelled by a short-notice strike involving ground staff at the German airline. A short-notice walk-out by 25,000 members of the Verdi union aimed at disrupting passenger flights will run from 4am on Tuesday 20 February until 7.10am on Wednesday 21 February. The main effects will be felt at the key hubs, Frankfurt and Munich, though Lufthansa workers at Berlin, Cologne-Bonn, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Stuttgart will also strike. Lufthansa warns passengers: “Due to the strike, we currently assume that only around 10 to 20% of the Lufthansa airline flight programme can be operated, particularly on 20 February.” The German airline currently carries around 200,000 passengers a day. Besides the impact on Tuesday’s flights, the “first wave” of departures on Wednesday is being targeted – leading to many more cancellations. Research by The Independent suggests that the vast majority of flights to and from Frankfurt and Munich, including all links serving UK airports, are grounded on Tuesday. The first flight from Frankfurt to London on Wednesday is also cancelled. Lufthansa says: “Passengers who are affected by flight cancellations because of the Verdi strike will be informed by email or via the Lufthansa app. We regret the inconvenience for our guests.” Under European air passengers’ rights rules, travellers are entitled to be rebooked on any available flight as soon as possible – and provided with meals and accommodation as necessary, at Lufthansa’s expense. Talks between the union and airline broke down last week, with Verdi claiming 96% of members had rejected the most recent offer from Lufthansa.<br/>

Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s E325m investment in Italian carrier ITA Airways is under threat from European Union merger watchdogs unless it fixes a list of competition concerns set to be handed down by regulators. The European Commission is gearing up to issue a so-called statement of objections cataloging certain risks arising from the deal, according to people familiar with the matter. The formal warning — increasingly common in complex or potentially troublesome transactions — could come before the authority’s Easter break in late March, said the people, who asked not to be named because the process isn’t public. Aside from warning about possible reasons for a veto, such filings typically flag potential ways forward to avoid such a scenario. In airline deals, this can include a remedy to share or give up routes to rival airlines, as well as a potential divestment of assets. Under the terms of the rescue plan, Cologne-based Lufthansa would initially buy 41% of the successor to failed flagship Alitalia from the Italian state, with an option to acquire the rest later. The transaction marks the latest attempt to resurrect the ailing Italian carrier, which officially ceased operations in 2021. A scaled-back version remained under government ownership and has soaked up billions of euros in state support since then.<br/>

Low-cost carriers (LCC) in Korea are gearing up for significant changes to their growth strategies, bracing for the envisioned launch of a mega-sized budget airline after Korean Air completes its acquisition of Asiana Airlines, according to industry officials, Monday. The outlook comes amid growing optimism for the two full-service airlines to secure final approval for the deal from U.S. authorities, possibly by the end of the year. Upon completion, Korean Air is widely anticipated to proceed with the integration of Jin Air, Air Seoul, and Air Busan — three LCCs operated by the two carriers. The newly launched LCC will be the largest budget carrier here, surpassing Jeju Air and T’way Air in terms of annual sales. Local aviation industry sources said other budget carriers have already started internal reviews to restructure their growth strategies as a preemptive measure to adapt and thrive amidst the anticipated paradigm shift in the LCC landscape. T’way Air is focusing on expanding its presence in Europe by introducing additional air routes connecting Incheon with major destinations such as Frankfurt, Paris, Rome, and Barcelona. This expansion follows the transfer of route rights from Korean Air to T’way Air. Earlier, Korean Air decided to relinquish those routes in exchange for conditional approval for its acquisition of Asiana from the European Union.<br/>

Asiana Airlines will double its weekly Seoul-Melbourne flights when it returns for another seasonal service later this year. Starting on 2 July and running to 2 September, Asiana will operate four weekly return A350-900 flights between Seoul and Melbourne, up from the two weekly flights in its current seasonal service, which is set to end this month. Flights will depart Melbourne at 11:10pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, arriving in Seoul the next day. Jim Parashos, Melbourne Airport’s chief of aviation, said the route had seen strong demand over the end-of-year peak period. “Seoul was Melbourne’s largest unserved market, so it was no surprise to us when in January we saw an average load factor of 96% on all Asiana flights arriving into Melbourne Airport, which represents fewer than 10 vacant seats free on almost every flight,” he said. “We know there’s huge demand for this service with more than 4500 passengers flying between the two cities across December and January. This new seasonal service will coincide with Korea’s peak holiday period, so we expect it to attract even stronger demand. This is a big commitment and sign of faith from Asiana in the Melbourne market and will hopefully pave the way for year-round services in the future.”<br/>

Swiss International Air Lines’ CFO Markus Binkert will leave the company at the end of May. The Zurich-based carrier said on 19 February that Binkert, who has spent almost two decades at the firm, the past four years of which as CFO, will take on the role of CE at gastronomy and hotel management company SV Group. Swiss has launched a search for his successor, the company adds. “Our company has a lot to thank Markus Binkert for,” says CE Dieter Vranckx. “In the numerous key positions that he has held over the years, Markus has consistently contributed to Swiss’s success – in good times and in tougher ones such as the pandemic years. As a vital member of our management board, Markus has been instrumental in helping to ensure that our airline stands on the firm financial foundation that it has today, debt-free and well positioned to meet and master the challenges ahead.” Binkert joined Swiss as head of global key accounts and business sales Switzerland in 2005 and moved through the product, marketing and distribution ranks before being appointed to the company’s management board as CCO in 2013.<br/>

Tata Group-owned carrier Air India and plane parts-maker Tata Advanced Systems will invest 23b rupees ($277.2m) in the Indian state of Karnataka, the state government said on Monday. Air India will conduct maintenance, repairs, and overhaul of planes at the Bengaluru airport, while Tata Advanced Systems will set up manufacturing and research & development facilities in the state, the government said. The investments will generate around 1,600 jobs directly and more than 25,000 jobs indirectly in the state, it added. Tata Advanced Systems makes cargo and bulk cargo doors for European planemaker Airbus' A320neo family of aircraft, while Air India has the second-biggest market share among domestic Indian airlines as of Jan. 31. The investment comes a month after Tata Technologies pledged an investment of 150b rupees in Telangana as part of the conglomerate's commitment to expand in the state. The Tata Group is also close to announcing plans to build a semiconductor fabrication plant in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat, Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said last month. Indian states have also received investment pledges from companies and conglomerates, including Maruti Suzuki and the Adani Group in January, at business events such as the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit and the World Economic Forum.<br/>