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Copa Airlines has announced a new destination to Tulum International from Panama City. The new route is scheduled to begin operating June 26, 2024. The new route to Tulum consolidates the airline’s presence in Mexico with five destinations, providing a faster and more convenient alternative for traveling to this renowned tourist destination in the Riviera Maya. Copa Airlines, a subsidiary of Copa Holdings, S.A. and a member of the Star Alliance global airline network, announces the start of the new Panama City to Tulum route in June of 2024. “We remain steadfast in our purpose to shorten distances and facilitate connections, allowing Panama to continue being the bridge that unites thousands of people throughout the continent, while contributing to the economic development of the communities where we operate."<br/>

Lufthansa slashed its 2024 earnings outlook on Monday, blaming a series of strikes and a slower than planned ramp-up of capacity, in a profit warning that sent its share price sliding by more than 4% to a five-month low. The German flag carrier now expects adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of E2.2b this year, it said in a statement, versus a previous forecast for stable earnings compared with its E2.68b adjusted EBIT result in 2023. Adjusted free cash flow in 2024 is expected to be at least E1b, down from the previous forecast of at least 1.5b, it added. The airline also reported a Q1 loss of E849m, against a 273m loss the previous year. "The loss was higher than expected due to various strikes ... which impacted earnings by around E350m," the statement said. The company has agreed in recent weeks to raise the pay of both its flight attendants and ground staff to end a series of labour stoppages that forced sweeping cancellations. Separate industrial action by German airport security staff has added to the company's woes. Lufthansa is also among airlines that have canceled a number of flights to and from the Middle East as tensions spike between Iran and Israel.<br/>

Lufthansa has offered concessions aimed at securing EU antitrust approval for its acquisition of a minority stake in Italian carrier ITA Airways, an update on the European Commission website shows. The EU executive did not provide details of the remedies, in line with its policy, and is expected to seek feedback from rivals and customers before clearing the deal or making further demands. Lufthansa's remedies could include ceding airport slots, traffic rights and planes to a rival, similar to those in a Korean airline deal approved by the Commission, a person with direct knowledge of the deal has told Reuters. The EU antitrust watchdog has said the deal threatened competition on short-haul routes between Italy and Central European countries, as well as on long-haul routes between Italy and the United States, Canada and Japan. It would also strengthen ITA's dominant position at Milan's main airport. Lufthansa's plan to buy a 41% stake in state-owned ITA for E325m and British Airways owner IAG's bid to buy out Spain's Air Europa are part of sector consolidation as European carriers seek to compete better against U.S. and Gulf rivals. Lufthansa is expected to attend a closed-door hearing in front of senior Commission officials and national competition officials on Friday, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.<br/>

Star Alliance member Air India will launch a new Delhi-Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) route in June. This is the first time an Indian carrier is operating between the cities. From 1 June, Air India will operate between Delhi and HCMC five times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The flag carrier will deploy a two-class Airbus A320neo on the route, configured with 12 business class recliners in a 2-2 configuration and 150 economy class seats configured 3-3. The flights will depart Delhi at 1315 and arrive in HCMC at 1955. From Vietnam, they depart again at 2055 and land back in Delhi at 0030. Air India already has an existing fleet of A320 family aircraft and has placed orders for another 210 A320 family aircraft, which is part of its historic order of 470 aircraft placed in 2023.<br/>

SIA and Scoot posted monthly passenger load factors of 86.3% and 93.1%, respectively Singapore Airlines group’s passenger traffic grew of 13.9% y-o-y for the month of March while passenger capacity expanded by 15.5% y-o-y. The group’s passenger load factor decreased 1.3 percentage points (ppts) y-o-y to reach 87.7%. SIA and Scoot posted monthly passenger load factors of 86.3% and 93.1%, respectively. The airlines carried a combined total of 3.3m passengers during the month, up 20.7% y-o-y. Cargo loads rose by 15.6% y-o-y, which was higher than the capacity expansion of 6.0%, on the back of of increased inventory flows by shippers as well as charters for various entertainment events. As a result, cargo load factor came in at a monthly high of 60.0% for FY2023/24 in March, 4.9ppts higher than a year before. As at end-March, the group’s passenger network covered 118 destinations in 35 countries and territories. SIA served 73 destinations, while Scoot served 67 destinations. The cargo network comprised 123 destinations in 37 countries and territories.<br/>

Air New Zealand Monday signed its largest deal for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with Finland-based petroleum refiner Neste in a bid to decarbonize and meet its net-zero carbon emission targets. The deal involves the purchase of 9m liters of the green fuel, which will be produced at Neste's Singapore refinery and supplied to Los Angeles International Airport between April 1 and Nov. 30, 2024, the airline said in a statement. The decision comes weeks after Air New Zealand sought out startups in the SAF sector to become its supply partner. "The SAF is expected to deliver a reduction of carbon emissions by up to 80% over the life cycle of the fuel compared to using fossil jet fuel, which includes its production as well as transport emissions," the airline said in a statement. The airline anticipates it would need SAF to make up around 20% of its total fuel uptake by 2030 as it aims to reduce carbon intensity by 28.9% by the end of the decade and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. "Sustainable aviation fuel is currently the only solution to significantly reduce emissions from long haul flight, but it currently makes up less than 1% of the global fuel supply," Air New Zealand Chair Dame Therese Walsh said.<br/>