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Italy's Treasury has put on hold the sale of a minority stake in ITA Airways to Lufthansa because of a dispute with the German carrier over the agreed price, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. An Italian source said the Treasury would not "undersell" ITA. Lufthansa in July won EU antitrust approval to buy 41% of state-owned ITA, the successor airline to bankrupt Alitalia, for E325m, in a deal designed to boost its presence in the lucrative southern European market. The Italian economy ministry and Lufthansa are arguing over a difference of E10m, a second source said, confirming an earlier report by Italian daily Corriere della Sera. The source said the eventual price would depend on the value of a second stake expected to be sold a few years after the initial 41%. Both sources asked not to be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly on the issue. A spokesperson for Lufthansa said the company would adhere to the terms of the contract for its investment in ITA, adding that the airline had signed an offer on remedies. The offer - needed to secure EU antitrust approval for the deal - included ceding flight slots to rivals.<br/>

TAP Air Portugal has resumed services to Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas, with flight TP51 from Lisbon on 4 November arriving at Manaus - Eduardo Gomes International Airport later that day. The service is operated using an A321 neo aircraft, which can carry 154 passengers (138 in economy and 16 in business). The 11-hour and 45-minute flight includes a stopover in Belém. TAP flies between Lisbon and Manaus on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, departing Lisbon at 10:35 and arriving in Manaus at 18:20 the same day. From the capital of Amazonas, flights leave at 19:35 and arrive in Lisbon at 11:10 the following day. “We are delighted to resume flights to Manaus, which is a gateway to the rich biodiversity of the Amazon. This connection reaffirms our commitment to Brazil and to tourism in the region, offering new opportunities for European travellers to get to know the region and for Brazilians to have another direct channel of access to Europe,” said Luís Rodrigues, President of TAP. Wilson Lima, Governor of Amazonas, said: “We have a very strong connection with Portugal in terms of the community and culture, as well as a strong, co-operative friendship. We are very happy with the investments that have been made and the airline’s willingness to be present here in Amazonas with flights three times a week.<br/>TAP Air Portugal flies more than any other airline between Europe and Brazil, with almost 100 flights a week from 13 of the South American country’s capital cities.<br/>

Turkish Airlines will keep growth in check at newly spun-out low-cost unit AJet amid ongoing aircraft availability challenges, after cutting capacity by 5% in the third quarter amid moves to help improve the carrer’s on-time performance. The low-cost carrier, the former Anadolu Jet which relaunched as a separate unit under the AJet brand earlier this year, saw its on-time performance falter towards the end of the second quarter – partly due to unplanned maintenance as it was flying more older aircraft than planned because of aircraft delivery delays and the grounding of some Pratt & Whitney GTF-powered Airbus narrowbodies. AJet reduced its capacity by 5% in the third quarter, as it assigned more back-up aircraft to support the carrier’s flight schedule. ”We have addressed the on-time performance issues of AJet,” said Turkish Airlines CFO Murat Seker during a third quarter earnings call on 5 November. ”AJet operations are stabilised and its on-time performance is above the industry average.” However, with little respite in aircraft availability challenges given the recent machinists strike at Boeing and the continued impact of GTF engine inspections – Seker says Turkish has 42 aircraft currently grounded, which will rise to a peak of 45 around year-end – Turkish plans to keep operation support measures in place at AJet for the near-term. As a result, AJet capacity for the year will be flat versus 2023. ”We strongly believe in AJet’s potential and the initiatives we have taken with AJet to increase its sales,” he says. ”The ratio of online sales of total sales went up from 40% to almost 48% in about six months and we have successfully adapted the new passenger services system and ancillary revenue generation has been increased in AJet. <br/>

Ethiopian Airlines has taken delivery of its first Airbus A350-1000, the initial example of the largest family member on the African continent. The airline is to receive three more -1000s along with another 11 A350-900s. Ethiopian, which has 21 A350s in its fleet, converted four previous -900 orders to the -1000. It will use this larger variant to serve routes including Paris, Frankfurt, London and Washington DC. The aircraft (ET-BAW) is configured with 395 seats including a business-class cabin, and feature HBCplus satcom connectivity. Airbus has secured orders for 302 A350-1000s, of which 88 had been delivered by the end of September this year.<br/>