Star Alliance carrier United Airlines has become the first US airline to return with direct services to Israel since the October attacks in the region. All three big US carriers, United, American, and Delta, paused their operations in Israel last year. United Airlines will initially relaunch its service from Newark but has not committed to relaunching flights from other US airports. March 2nd and 4th saw services from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) via Munich, Germany. However, non-stop operations will kick off on March 6th. For the ten-hour trip, UA84 is expected to push back from Newark at 15:55 with an expected arrival time in Tel Aviv at 09:20. According to Flightradar24, the service will be operated by one of the carrier's Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner, bearing the registration N13018. It has just one year of operations under its belt, after being delivered in October 2022. Scheduled to return on March 7th, the inbound service is expected to depart from Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV) at 11:30 before returning to Newark by 16:40. As reported by the Times of Israel, the carrier hopes to relaunch a second direct service from Newark by May, while it continues to monitor the current situation in the region before making any scheduled adjustments. Before the conflict began, UA operated direct services from Newark, San Fransisco, Washington DC, and Chicago. However, these are not expected to resume before the fall. United released this statement regarding operations to Tel Aviv: “Will continue to monitor the situation in Tel Aviv and adjust the schedule as warranted, including changes to the resumed service from New York/Newark announced today.”<br/>
star
Deutsche Lufthansa expects the latest two-day strike by ground crews to disrupt travel for more than 200,000 passengers, putting pressure on the German airline to negotiate a deal. Labor union Verdi has called Lufthansa ground staff walk off work on Thursday and Friday after failed negotiations over pay and working conditions. Lufthansa responded it’s willing to negotiate at short notice, provided that Verdi calls off the strike. Ground crew are among workers in Germany’s transport industry that have walked out over salary levels as staff shortages and high inflation bite. Thousands of passengers and major German airports were hit three times last month after security staff and ground crews across the country went on strike. The latest disruption will likely get exacerbated by a strike called by workers at Deutsche Bahn AG, the German railway also negotiating improved working hours. “With this uncompromising stance, the union is harming the company, many hundreds of thousands of customers and the employees of our companies,” Michael Niggemann, Lufthansa’s chief human resources officer, said. Verdi said on Monday that no agreement was reached during the fourth round of negotiations. The union has demanded a 12.5% salary increase and an extra E3,000 inflation bonus for ground staff. The next meeting is scheduled for March 13 and 14. Lufthansa said Verdi was “deliberately seeking escalation rather than a solution” to the dispute, and it will implement a special flight plan during the 59-hour warning strike.<br/>
Korean Air will set a historic milestone after completing its long-awaited acquisition of Asiana Airlines, a step that will help build a healthy aviation industry ecosystem across the nation, Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae said in a message to employees, Monday. “All of us will become main characters of history upon finishing the screening procedure for the merger of the two airlines,” Cho told staff during a ceremony marking the 55th anniversary of Korean Air. Hanjin Group operates the nation’s flag carrier, which announced its acquisition of the cash-strapped airline in 2020. “The harsh winter came immediately after we resolved on the acquisition plan, but we are confident that the integrated carrier will grow to serve as a large tree in the global aviation industry,” he said. Korean Air’s acquisition of Asiana Airlines has long been protracted after facing opposition from overseas competition authorities. However, the airline has won approvals from a total of 13 out of 14 foreign authorities over the past three years. The U.S. Department of Justice holds the final key concerning the completion of the high-stakes deal. Korean Air expects the U.S. authority to grant approvals as early as the first half of 2024. After the airline overcame a major hurdle from the European Union and won conditional approval from the authority, market watchers are betting on the possibility of receiving final approval from the U.S. authority as well.<br/>
Air New Zealand and Wellington Airport are trialling the use of hydrogen power in an aviation setting. The airline’s electric tugs and service vehicles at Wellington will be charged using hydrogen fuel cells over the next few weeks, as part of a trial program involving Air New Zealand, Wellington Airport, Toyota New Zealand, and Hiringa Energy. “Green hydrogen is starting to be used around the world as a low-emission fuel for buses, trucks, trains, and boats. Aircraft are the logical next step and successful test flights are already underway overseas,” said Air New Zealand senior sustainability manager Jacob Snelgrove. “The biggest challenge here in New Zealand is setting up the supply, transport, and infrastructure to support fuelling the aircraft. This trial is an important first step to enable the development of that system.” The trial will be conducted using a fuel cell supplied by Toyota, with energy supply coordinated by clean energy company Hiringa Energy. According to Wellington Airport chief executive Matt Clarke, this is the first time hydrogen has been used at a NZ airport, and is “an important step on the long-term journey to decarbonise aviation”. “The trial will help us assess the viability of hydrogen for charging and give us a good insight into the operational challenges and opportunities,” he said.<br/>