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A United Airlines cross-country flight was cut short and the jetliner landed in Denver after one of its wings was damaged. A passenger on the San Francisco-to-Boston flight Monday said he had just put in earbuds and started to doze off when he felt the plane shaking. "All of a sudden I heard this violent vibration like I had never heard before,” Kevin Clarke said in an interview Tuesday. Clarke said one of the pilots walked down the aisle of the main cabin, then returned to the cockpit and announced that the plane had minor damage to its right wing and the flight would be diverted to Denver. Clarke opened his window shade and took video of the damage that was later broadcast on Boston 25 News. The 67-year-old, a ski-race announcer from Maine, was comforted that the pilot believed the plane was good enough to fly, but he began having doubts when the jet hit turbulence. Clark began checking the wing repeatedly, until he decided that he just couldn't look anymore. United said the Boeing 757-200 carrying 165 passengers landed in Denver to “address an issue with the slat” on one of its wings. Slats are moveable panels on the front or leading edge of the wing and are used during takeoffs and landings. Chicago-based United did not say what caused the damage which left pieces of the slat torn away.<br/>

United Airlines will rely more on Boeing 737 MAX 9 and Airbus A321 aircraft in the absence of MAX 10 to pursue its growth plans, CFO Mike Leskinen said on Tuesday. A mid-air emergency last month on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 has raised new doubts over certification of the already delayed MAX 10. United has ordered 277 MAX 10 jets with options for another 200. While United has not cancelled the order, the airline has removed them from its internal plans. That has raised questions about the carrier's ability to grow domestic capacity by almost 30% by 2026 under its "United Next" plan. At Citi's industrial conference, Leskinen said the airline would not be able to grow as fast without MAX 10. "What you're going to see now is much more MAX 9 and 321 aircraft," he said. "The mix of which I don't know yet. It depends on the prices." Reuters last month reported that United had approached rival Airbus about buying more A321neo jets as possible alternatives to its MAX 10 order.<br/>Leskinen said United is "deeply disappointed" with Boeing due to aircraft delivery delays. The Chicago-based airline has options to mix some additional Airbus product into its "Boeing heavy fleet" and extend the life of some planes that are ready to retire, he said.<br/>

Air Canada is proceeding more cautiously ongrowth plans this year, despite sturdy profits and strong bookings last quarter as its post-pandemic recovery continues. The country’s biggest airline aims to boost flight capacity by 6% to 8%, below analysts’ expectations of a 10% increase. “This is reasonable for us as we continue to see industry supply chain pressures and other constraining factors,” said head of network planning Mark Galardo on a conference call with analysts Friday. Those pressures may include production delays at Boeing and Airbus, with at least one Air Canada plane delivery this year pushed back to 2025.The carrier’s brake tapping means it won’t exceed 2019 capacity levels until 2025, five years after the COVID-19 pandemic first hammered thetravel industry. The slowdown also suggests the “rapid expansion in leisure routes may be scaling back,” said RBC Capital Markets analyst Walter Spracklin. And it stands “in contrast” to plans by other large airlines in North America, according to Savanthi Syth of Raymond James. Nonetheless, short-term demand remains steady, with advance bookings up 6% year-over-year in the fourth quarter. Air Canada earned nearly 10% higher year-over-year profits even as it strained to keep a lid on cost increases that have plagued the industry. More flights and higher fares on international trips — particularly over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans — drove a 12 per cent rise in passenger revenues last quarter versus a year earlier, said CEO Michael Rousseau. He called the full year “very successful,” as net income over 12 months swung to a profit of $2.28b from a $1.70b loss in 2022.<br/>

Ground staff at German airline Lufthansa walked off the job at major airports on Tuesday in their second strike this month, raising pressure in wage talks due to continue on Wednesday. "If Lufthansa does not realise that it now has to take a big step towards us, then longer strikes will continue to be possible," labour union Verdi's lead negotiator, Marvin Reschinsky, said. Over 100,000 passengers will be affected by the industrial action, which is due to run until 7:10 am (0610 GMT) on Wednesday, the airline has said. Lufthansa said it could only operate 10% of scheduled flights at the affected airports, which include the country's biggest hub in Frankfurt as well as Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Duesseldorf, Cologne and Stuttgart. The first flights were cancelled on Monday evening. Germany, Europe's largest economy, has been hit with a number of nationwide strikes affecting air travel, railways and public transport, as workers faced with high inflation demand greater pay.<br/>

Polish airline LOT has ordered 11 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft for delivery by the end of the first half of 2025, its CE was quoted as saying by state news agency PAP. "In total, we currently have 11 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft on order for delivery over the next several months, i.e. until the end of the first half of 2025," Michal Fijol was quoted as saying. "Three MAXs will appear in the first half of this year, the first of them at the turn of March and April. And the next two in the first half of the year, which means we will have them at the peak of the summer season," he said.<br/>

A group of airline workers have been sent to hospital after radioactive material leaked on an aircraft at Barcelona airport. The five workers were potentially exposed to "a medical product" that was going to the cargo section of a plane at Barcelona-El Prat. The Swiss Airlines plane had landed into Barcelona's main airport from Zurich. The plane, which was carrying a suitcase with a "radiological medical product", was parked at Terminal 1 at Barcelona airport. The area around the flight had been cordoned off while checks are carried out to rule out the radiological levels. According to local media reports, the passengers who were on the plane have been put in isolation as five workers were taken to hospital as a precaution. Airport operations have not been affected by this incident and flights can operate normally in and out of the busy terminal.<br/>

Asiana Airlines employees are growing increasingly apprehensive about their job security as the impending takeover by Korean Air approaches completion. Korean Air, thus far, has maintained an ambiguous stance, refraining from presenting concrete action plans to assure the continued employment of Asiana workers. The employees also expressing discontent over the slim chance of receiving incentives, despite Asiana Airlines achieving record sales of 6.53t won ($4.88b) in 2023, marking a 16% increase from the previous year. This dissatisfaction contrasts with Korean Air's earlier confirmation of its intention to provide a bonus equivalent to 407% of employees' basic monthly salary, following its own historic annual sales of 14.57t won during the same period. The complaints were delivered during a meeting between Asiana Airlines CEO Won Yoo-seok and its employees last week, but top management of the cash-strapped airline failed to provide clear answers as to how the company can guarantee employees’ job security once the takeover is complete. "The meeting can be seen as part of a gesture by the management that it has held enough communication with employees to justify its critical future decision-making, such as sales of our cargo business," a labor union member from Asiana Airlines said. "The absence of incentives also leaves much to be desired at a time when our job security is threatened."<br/>

Upon receiving a conditional approval from the European Union (EU) over the merger between Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, the sale of Asiana Airlines' cargo business has officially kicked off, as selling off the freight arm was part of the conditions to receive the EU grant over the merger deal. According to the investment banking industry on Tuesday, UBS, the lead advisor for the sale of Asiana Airlines' cargo business, has recently distributed investment memoranda and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to potential acquirers of the cargo business. Potential buyers are largely anticipated to include four domestic low-cost carriers — Jeju Air, EastarJet, Air Premia and Air Incheon. As UBS plans to soon distribute bid proposals to potential buyers that sign NDAs, companies interested in acquiring the cargo business are expected to submit their drafts of bid proposals, specifying plans for financing and business strategies, among others, by the end of this month. Korean Air, the seller, plans to select a shortlist of the final group of potential acquirers after receiving bid proposals, aiming to complete the sale by October at the latest. Currently, the airlines mentioned as potential acquirers are considering various approaches to source funding, including utilizing the financial strength of their major shareholders or forming consortia with strategic investors to proceed with the acquisition.<br/>

Korean Air Lines Co. is considering letting go of its fleet of 10 Airbus SE A220 jets, according to people familiar with the matter, as the carrier seeks to streamline the types of aircraft it operates ahead of a merger with Asiana Airlines Inc. Seoul-based Korean Air ordered the models back in 2011 and they’re one of the oldest styles of A220 jets currently plying the skies. No final decision has been taken and the airline could still ultimately choose to retain the planes, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. A Korean Air spokesperson said via text message that the carrier hasn’t confirmed whether it will exit its Airbus A220 fleet. A representative from Airbus declined to comment. Getting rid of its small fleet of A220s would allow Korean Air to simplify the many types of aircraft it operates across the Boeing Co. and Airbus model lineup. That simplification push is becoming more crucial as it prepares to merge with fellow South Korean carrier Asiana. Korean Air’s 1.8t won ($1.3b) bid for its smaller rival won approval earlier this month from the European Union, moving the deal a step closer to reality after the firms offered to address concerns raised over competition. Korean Air was an early operator of the model that was originally introduced by Bombardier Inc. and was at the time called the C-Series. Airbus later took over the program in 2018 and renamed it the A220, in line with its other models. Fuel efficient and lightweight, the A220 is powered by Pratt & Whitney’s geared turbofan engines, which have struggled with shorter-than-expected time on the wing and more recently, potentially flawed components that require inspections.<br/>

Singapore Airlines Ltd reported a quarterly net profit on Tuesday that missed estimates and flagged concerns of increased competition as the airline industry made the most of a rebound in air travel following the end of Covid-related curbs. The city-state's flagship carrier said passenger yields continued to come under pressure from competitors as airlines globally hiked up the number of flights and routes to meet increased travel demand. Geopolitical and macroeconomic concerns, inflationary pressures, and supply chain constraints are likely to pose headwinds to the industry, it added. Net profit rose nearly 5% to S$659m helped mainly by a lower tax expense as well as a share of profits from associated companies and a surplus from the disposal of aircraft and spare parts. Even then, however, it missed analysts' average estimate of S$777.8m, as per LSEG IBES data. The carrier's operating profit fell 19.3% to S$609m year-on-year as total expenses rose 9.2%. This was mainly due to a 9.1% rise in fuel costs, which account for a large portion of overall expenses. Non-fuel costs rose 9.1%, "in line with the 11.1% increase in overall passenger and cargo capacity," the airline said. Robust demand for air travel drove its revenue up 4.9% to its highest-ever quarterly revenue, with the airline seeing air travel demand remaining healthy in January-March quarter as well as the following April-June quarter.<br/>

Thai Airways International has revealed a firm order for 45 Boeing 787-9 aircraft, plus 35 options, with the deal also offering the carrier a route to the new 777X. To be powered by GE Aerospace GEnx engines, the Dreamliners are set to begin arriving from 2027 and deliveries will run for 10 years. Announced on opening day of the Singapore air show on 20 February, the order also gives Thai the ability to switch its commitments to the in-development 777X. “The seamless interchangeability between these Dreamliner models and the 777X offers Thai strategic advantages in optimising routes, capacity and operational efficiency,” the Star Alliance carrier states. Thai first announced it had entered into an agreement with Boeing and GE Aerospace for the acquisition of medium- to long-haul aircraft on 14 February. The airline issued a request for proposals in early 2023 for new widebody aircraft. Eamsiri says the evaluation process took around 10 months, taking into consideration “our long-term business plan and network plans”. Thai subsequently selected Boeing at the end of 2023, he adds.<br/>

Any ministerial review of Auckland International Airport's plans to raise charges for airlines using its terminals will not happen until the competition watchdog has progressed on its review, New Zealand's commerce minister said on Wednesday. Air New Zealand said earlier on Wednesday it had lodged an official request with the minister, Andrew Bayly, to look at government regulation and if it was fit for purpose. The country's largest airline is concerned about Auckland Airport's plans to redevelop the airport and to pay for this in part by increasing fees charged to carriers and does not believe there is enough regulation over their price setting. The Commerce Commission is undertaking a review of the proposed fee schedule and will release a draft report on this in May. Bayly told Reuters in an email he was concerned by the proposed increased charges but will wait to make any decisions until the commission has made progress on its review. "I will closely monitor this process," he said. Bayly added, however, he was meeting with airport CE Carrie Hurihanganui later in the week and would express concerns about the effect of increased charges on air tickets. Air New Zealand, which is majority government-owned, said increased charges will lead to higher airfares. It wants Auckland Airport to pause its redevelopment and look at cheaper options.<br/>