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Air Canada says it's sorry after staff tried to stow away the headdress of the Assembly of First Nations' national chief in cargo storage before the departure of a flight Wednesday. The company said in a statement Thursday it's apologizing to National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, who said on social media Thursday she was forced to hand over a case containing the headdress that was with her in the plane's cabin. "I won't be letting anyone take away my headdress or case again," Woodhouse Nepinak said on a public Facebook post, ahead of a different flight to Montreal. "Air Canada needs a protocol for First Peoples so that we are not harassed for our sacred items. Our headdresses don't belong in [garbage] bags by airlines." The national chief said staff wanted to put her headdress in cargo storage because there was no room at the cabin, and that the situation got tense. She said the flight crew threatened her staff, and that other passengers stood up for her. She said the case was put in a plastic bag. The pilot came out and brought the case back after she complained, she said. Woodhouse Nepinak said she normally travels with the headdress on her lap, or in carry-on storage. Air Canada said in a statement it's reached out to the national chief to "better understand and apologize for her experience."<br/>

Deutsche Lufthansa AG is expected to submit a fresh round of concessions to European Union regulators over its planned E325m investment in Italian carrier ITA Airways after an earlier offer failed to allay competition concerns. The move, signaled by the Italian government after a meeting between Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti and EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager in Brussels, will improve on April 11 commitments described at the time by Lufthansa as “a comprehensive, constructive solution” to appease regulators. “The parties will submit, in due course, certain additional remedies to address the concerns raised by the commission, including the issue of certain routes,” Italy’s Finance Ministry said without giving further details. The previous offer — deemed inadequate — involved sharing flight routes with rivals out of Rome and Milan Linate airports, as well as giving up slots on eight European routes, according to people familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity. These routes were largely from Milan and Rome and cities in Germany and Switzerland. The concessions also involved the freezing of minimum passenger capacities on flights to the US, Canada, and Japan. The offer was designed to appease EU concerns over Lufthansa having an increased incentive to raise ticket prices on those routes. The people added that while June 6 is the official deadline for regulators to sign off on the deal, there is a likelihood of the review deadline being extended as Lufthansa prepares a revised remedy package. The EU’s pressure for Lufthansa to offer more concessions comes after it formally warned in March that it could block the deal unless the firm made an offer to fix its anticompetitive concerns.<br/>

Lufthansa revealed the first aircraft equipped with its new “Allegris” cabin updates on 25 April, more than a year late owing to supply chain and airframer delays. The Airbus A350-900 – outfitted with new first-class, business-class, premium-economy and economy seats – is scheduled to begin carrying paying passengers on flights between Munich and Vancouver on 1 May. Lufthansa’s roll out of Allegris to additional markets will proceed slowly, as it awaits new aircraft from both Airbus and Boeing. The airline’s flights from Munich to Chicago O’Hare, Shanghai Pudong and Toronto Pearson are scheduled to have the product later this year. “They say good things come to those who wait. But I probably speak for all of us when I say everyone’s patience is a little bit stretched over the last months and years,” Lufthansa CEO Jens Ritter said during an event at Munich International airport on Thursday. Delivery delays at both Airbus and Boeing were the main cause of Allegris’ late arrival, he said. Lufthansa had previously expected the product to enter service last year. Supply chain logjams also contributed to delays. The wait is not over. The Allegris-equipped A350 scheduled to enter service next month still lacks Lufthansa’s new Allegris first-class suites. (Travellers who venture to the front of the jet’s cabin will see signs reading “Lufthansa Allegris First Class Loading”.) Lufthansa hopes in August or September to receive its first A350 with the suites. That jet will come new from Airbus, which will install the suites prior to delivery, known as a “line fit”. After that, Lufthansa Technik can install the suites on other aircraft.<br/>

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has accused the United States of exerting pressure on Turkey's national airline to bar Russian citizens from flights bound to Mexico. His comments came after Moscow's embassy in Ankara this week complained that some Russian airline passengers were being indiscriminately denied boarding while transiting on Turkish Airlines flights from Istanbul to some Latin American countries. "Specifically in relation to Mexico, the reason, I think, is easy to guess", Ryabkov was quoted late on Wednesday as saying by the TASS state news agency. "It lies in the pressure that is exerted on the authorities of this country by Washington." He did not provide evidence for the accusation. Two industry sources told Reuters they believed Turkish Airlines was acting at the behest of the U.S. in an effort to stem immigration flows of Russians to its southern border. "Turkish Airlines was somehow pressured or persuaded or intimidated to be so strict," said Artur Muradyan, vice president for international tourism at the Russian Association of Tour Operators, an industry group. "I think they are under pressure from the U.S. to do this." A second source, who requested anonymity, said: "(Turkish Airlines) think people are flying (to Latin America) to cross the border into the U.S.". Most of the Russians denied boarding were flying to Mexico, the source added.<br/>

South African Airways is to resume its service to the Australian city of Perth by the end of April, continuing a restoration of the flag-carrier’s long-haul services. It has already re-introduced flights to Sao Paulo in Brazil, around six months ago. SAA’s rebuilding of its network had already been planned before the recent failure of a long-running attempt to privatise the airline. It had indicated last year that Perth was among the destinations it intended to restore. The airline will open services on 28 April, operating three-times weekly from Johannesburg. SAA’s reservations engine indicates the carrier will use Airbus A340-300s on the route. “This is an important route for both SAA and South Africa. Perth has long been a favoured destination for South African travellers,” says interim chief John Lamola. South African minister of public enterprises Pravin Gordhan says the Perth relaunch is evidence that SAA is expanding intercontinental flights in its own right, and not just through codeshares. Lamola adds that the route is “an important step towards realising the airline’s strategic growth plans”.<br/>

Three South Korean low-cost carriers are currently in the race to buy Asiana Airlines' cargo business, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday. Among the carriers that participated in the first round of bids, Jeju Air said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that it did not participate in the second round. The people initially said four companies had submitted bids in the second round of bidding for the business, but after Jeju Air's filing, they identified Eastar Jet, Air Premia and Air Incheon as having submitted bids. They declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to media about the deal. Air Premia declined to comment. Spokespeople for Eastar Jet and Air Incheon could not be immediately reached for comment. Korean Air, South Korea's biggest carrier, is set to purchase nearly two-thirds of Asiana for about $1.4b, but EU antitrust authorities have stipulated that Asiana's cargo business must be sold before they will give their approval. Sale adviser UBS accepted the second round of bids to buy the business, encompassing Asiana's 11 freighter aircraft, airport slots, employees and contracts.<br/>