Air Canada says it is almost ready to resume direct flights to Tel Aviv, five months after it suspended travel to the city following the onset of the Israel-Hamas war. “We have always said we intend to resume service to TLV, and we are finalizing the logistics at this point for a potential resumption in April,” the airline said. Canada’s flag carrier suspended service to Tel Aviv on Oct. 8 in the aftermath of Hamas’ attacks in Israel that left approximately 1,200 people dead. At the time, the airline said it would resume operations to the city “as soon as the situation stabilizes.” Since then, Israel’s invasion of Gaza has left more than 30,000 Palestinians dead, according to the local health ministry. The fighting has continued ever since and a recent attempt at a second cease-fire failed. Global Affairs Canada still advises against non-essential travel to Israel and Canadians are advised against all travel to the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and other borders in the county. “Avoid non-essential travel to Israel due to the ongoing regional armed conflict and the unpredictable security situation,” the federal agency’s website reads. It’s unclear when exactly Air Canada will resume flights to Tel Aviv. However, a direct flight to the city appears to be available on the airline’s website as soon as April 8.<br/>
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In a ballot of flight attendant union members, more than 96% voted in favour of going on strike in the ongoing wage dispute with the German airline Lufthansa, the Ufo union said on Wednesday, but a strike date is not to be set until later. It comes after ground staff at the national carrier are set to go on strike from Wednesday evening, with security staff at Germany's Frankfurt and Hamburg airports set to join the action on Thursday. They are represented by a different trade union. Ufo head Joachim Vázquez Bürger stressed that unionized flight attendants as well as the entire Lufthansa cabin staff were very determined to fight for improvements but said a strike could still be avoided at this point. ""We remain open to reasonable offers and fair solutions from the employer in order to possibly avert strikes at short notice," he said. Ufo is demanding a 15% pay rise for around 18,000 Lufthansa cabin crew and just under 1,000 staff at subsidiary Cityline over a period of 18 months. The union is also asking for an inflation adjustment bonus of E3,000 and higher bonuses. Wage negotiations for the Lufthansa parent company and the subsidiary Cityline have been held separately. In both cases, the union had rejected the respective offers as insufficient. Amid the ongoing wage dispute, employees will be watching closely when Lufthansa CE Carsten Spohr is set to present a renewed sharp rise in profits for the financial year 2023 on Thursday.<br/>
Frankfurt airport, Germany's busiest, will be closed to passengers with planned departures on Thursday due to a security staff strike organised by Germany's Verdi union, the airport's operator said in a statement on Wednesday. "Fraport is asking all passengers starting their journey in Frankfurt not to come to the airport on March 7 and to contact their airline," the statement said. Germany is facing strike action on three fronts on Thursday, with walkouts also planned by the nation's train drivers and by ground staff at Lufthansa. It is the latest wave of industrial action to hit Europe's largest economy, where high inflation and worker shortages have put a strain on wage negotiations, leading to repeated strikes in the travel sector.<br/>
Air France-KLM is in advanced talks to increase its ownership of SAS Scandinavian Airlines and gain a majority stake in the airline, the Franco-Dutch group’s CEO Benjamin Smith confirmed during an investors' call. “We're very, very happy with how things worked out with SAS, with our 19% stake, with the exit of SAS from Star Alliance and our exclusive ability to go up to a controlling stake. So, we're already in deep talks,” he noted. He went on to say that the company doesn’t expect any significant competition policy issues but that once the group does get a majority stake in SAS, some slots at Amsterdam Schiphol will have to be surrendered due to dominance on Scandinavia-bound routes. ch-aviation capacities data shows that KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and SAS make up over 90% of the total seating capacity from Amsterdam Schiphol to airports in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. As a part of its alliance shift to Skyteam from Star Alliance, where it had been a founding member, SAS has started aligning its schedule with other SkyTeam members and will fly between Copenhagen and Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson, Delta Air Lines’ hub. In 2020, Air France, KLM, Delta and Virgin Atlantic announced a joint venture covering transatlantic services. Smith now hopes SAS will join the JV in due course.<br/>
Ever been irritated as someone delays your flight by struggling to fit an obviously oversized bag into the overhead locker? Ever been miffed at having to stow your own carry-on far from your seat because your neighbour hogged all the space? Air New Zealand is looking to ease these frustrations with a crackdown on carry-on luggage rulebreakers - so if you're someone who has enjoyed sneaking more onboard than you're supposed to, those good times may be over. Like all airlines, Air NZ must carefully calculate the weight, balance and fuel requirements of every flight to ensure it flies safely and efficiently, meaning there are rules for how much we can take with us on the plane. But some airlines are more relaxed than others at enforcing those rules. A recent post on Reddit launched a discussion about how Air NZ is perceived as being less strict than Jetstar at enforcing carry-on rules in Aotearoa - but recent airport activity suggests that's changing. Now Air NZ GM Airports, Kate Boyer, has confirmed the airline is "taking a little closer look" at carry-on to stop people taking the mickey. "Lately, our airport teams have noticed that some customers' carry-on baggage has been pushing the upper limits of weight, size, and the number of items allowed, which poses challenges including limited space onboard the aircraft, slower boarding and disembarking of the aircraft, and reduced overhead locker capacity for all customers," Boyer told Newshub. "For these reasons, we're taking a little closer look at customers' carry-on baggage at the airport and we will be asking customers whose baggage exceeds limits to check in their bags. If you end up with a little more weight than expected after packing, we recommend you add a checked bag to your booking before you fly."<br/>