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Air Canada will increase direct flights between China and Canada starting from December to help bolster economy and trade between the two countries and promote further recovery of China-Canada air transportation, CAAC news reported on Wednesday. The airline will increase the frequency of its round trip Vancouver to Shanghai route to seven flights per week from four from Dec. 7 and resume the operation of seven weekly Vancouver to Beijing direct flights from Jan, 15, 2025. Despite the continued frictions over trade, Canada this year had agreed to stabilise bilateral ties with China, committing to "pragmatic" engagement with the world's second-largest economy. Beijing has also agreed to normalise relations with Ottawa, after Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly's July visit to China, the first by a Canadian foreign minister in seven years. The increase in direct flights will "help meet the needs of personnel exchanges and economic and trade between the two sides, and promote the further recovery of the air transport market between China and Canada," said CAAC News, the official newspaper under China's aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Bilateral relations, established in 1970, turned icy in 2018 after Huawei's CFO Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada and China subsequently arrested two Canadians in China. All three were later released, but Ottawa's allegations of Chinese interference in Canada have kept relations strained.<br/>

German airline group Lufthansa reported a fall in Q3 operating profit on Tuesday as its flagship brand struggles with low yields, competition with international airlines and spiralling costs. Q3 operating profit of E1.3b was largely in line with the expectations of analysts polled by the company, but 9% lower than a year earlier. "Delayed aircraft deliveries, punctuality issues at our hubs in Germany and regulatory disadvantages are impacting our core brand," CEO Carsten Spohr said in a statement. Q3, which includes the busy summer months for travellers, is usually the strongest for European airlines, but rising costs, unpredictability tied to the crisis in the Middle East and plane delivery delays continue to weigh on results. Shares in Lufthansa were down 2.68% at 1152 GMT after the results were announced. Shares in Wizz Air, British Airways owner IAG and easyJet also dropped. Lufthansa's passenger airlines, which include its namesake brand as well as carriers such as Austrian Airlines, Swiss International and Eurowings, generated an operating profit of E1.2b in Q3r, down from E1.4b a year earlier. The drop was driven mainly by a E234m decline in the result of its core brand Lufthansa Airlines, the company said in a statement. A slower recovery in corporate travel also contributed, analysts said.<br/>

Lufthansa is expecting to debut shortly an Airbus A350 outfitted with its Allegris interior product featuring a first-class cabin. While the German carrier was able earlier this year to introduce the first of its Allegris-equipped A350s, after aircraft delivery delays and supply chain challenges had long delayed its entry into service, the initial aircraft did not feature the new first-class cabin. Speaking during a Q3 results call briefing today, Lufthansa Group CE Carsten Spohr said the mainline carrier is finally about to debut the new first-class product. ”In mid-October, we were finally able to take delivery of the first Airbus A350 including the new first-class [cabin]. We are now in the fine-tuning process and wait for official approval from the German authorities, then we will be able to take the aircraft into the skies with passengers in just a few days,” he says. ”By the end of the year we expect to have two more of these A350s with Allegris in all four travel classes in our possession, and even more to come in early 2025, with three [more].” In addition, Lufthansa will in early 2025 begin retrofitting the early A350s with the first-class cabin, offering a ”significant improvement in our premium offer”. Spohr says that while the airline had expected customer satisfaction be raised with by the introduction of the Allegris product on the intercontinental cabin, ”we are happy to see those expectations exceeded with the flights we have already been operating”.<br/>

The Portuguese government is planning a partial or complete privatization of the state-owned airline TAP Air Portugal. The European airlines Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and IAG have officially signaled their interest in participating in Lisbon. According to the Portuguese newspaper "Negocios", talks are currently taking place between the government and representatives of the three airline groups, in which various participation models are being examined. The decision on a possible privatization will then be presented to the Portuguese parliament. Lufthansa sees TAP primarily as an opportunity to secure the Portuguese airline's membership in the Star Alliance in the long term and to strengthen its market position on transatlantic routes. Air France-KLM, on the other hand, could further integrate TAP Air Portugal into its own alliance after the takeover of SAS, thereby weakening Lufthansa's influence. IAG, which recently canceled the takeover of Air Europa, sees TAP as an opportunity to expand its own network in southern Europe.<br/>

Hamad International Airport (HIA) has announced the expansion of its connectivity to China with the launch of direct flights to Shenzhen, operated by Shenzhen Airlines. The new route marks the airport’s ninth destination in China and Shenzhen Airlines’ first destination in the Middle East. From October 29, Shenzhen Airlines operates the new Doha-Shenzhen route three times a week, with flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. The service is operated using Shenzhen Airlines' Airbus A330-300, offering a total of 300 seats across the business, premium economy, and economy classes. The aircraft features 16 lie-flat business class seats, 23 premium economy seats, and 261 economy class seats. Following the Shenzhen aircraft's touchdown at HIA, a ceremony was hosted by the airport to commemorate the launch of the new route. HIA COO Hamad Ali al-Khater welcomed Chinese ambassador Cao Xiaolin, Shenzhen Airlines board member and vice president Li Chuanwei, and other distinguished guests from Qatar and China. The ceremony featured a symbolic ribbon-cutting and exchange of gifts, solidifying the strong partnership between the two nations.<br/>

Air New Zealand and LanzaJet have announced the preliminary findings from a study into using woody waste residues and low-value wood products in New Zealand to produce sustainable aviation fuel - a form of alternative jet fuel commonly referred to as SAF. The feasibility study was funded by Air New Zealand and the New Zealand Government, and undertaken in partnership with Scion, Z Energy (Z), and WoodBeca. LanzaJet, one of the world’s leading SAF technology providers and sustainable fuel producers, has found that locally produced New Zealand SAF could meet up to a quarter of the aviation fuel needed for domestic flights each year, enhancing New Zealand’s local fuel security and resilience. The study found that using domestically grown woody waste for SAF has the potential to contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to New Zealand’s economy per year and create hundreds of new regional jobs. Significant investment in infrastructure will be needed to achieve this. Air New Zealand Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer, Kiri Hannifin, says the initial findings from the study are promising, however establishing and stimulating a new SAF market will be critical to ensure New Zealand doesn’t miss out on securing homegrown raw materials like woody waste for its own use and benefit. “These initial findings support that alternative jet fuel can be produced here in Aotearoa from our own locally-grown woody waste, which is very positive for a country that is heavily reliant on long-haul aviation and trade and currently imports 100% of its jet fuel,” says Hannifin. <br/>