United Airlines has signed an SAF supply deal with US energy giant Phillips 66. Under the deal, Phillips will supply SAF to United Airlines’ hub at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and Los Angeles’ LAX Airport. Initially, the agreement will see the supply of 600,000 gallons of SAF to LAX by the end of this year, with 3m gallons of SAF due at Chicago-O’Hare in the first half of 2025; with that total possibly rising to 8m gallons. “We are excited to continue our collaboration with United Airlines to advance its lower-carbon goals and explore ways to benefit all segments of the aviation industry,” said Brian Mandell, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Commercial, Phillips 66. “Building on our legacy as a leading conventional jet fuel supplier, providing 10% of the fuel volumes nationwide, we are dedicated to offering additional fuel options to our customers.”<br/>
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Deutsche Lufthansa AG has put two senior executives in charge of improving performance at its main Frankfurt and Munich hubs after operations during peak travel seasons were plagued by delays and disruptions that resulted in angry passengers. Jens Ritter, who is the CEO of Lufthansa’s namesake airline, will be responsible for Munich, while COO Klaus Froese will oversee operations in Frankfurt, Lufthansa said in a statement Thursday. Lufthansa’s flights from the two hubs regularly suffer delays, which contributed to the airline losing its five-star Skytrax rating in 2022. “The goal is to ensure stable, reliable and punctual flight operations in cooperation between the Lufthansa teams and their respective local partners - even during peak periods in the summer,” Lufthansa said in a statement. Frankfurt and Munich are Lufthansa’s main hubs for its lucrative transatlantic routes. This summer, about half of passengers passing through Munich experienced delays, according to an analysis by AirHelp, which facilitates compensation for flight delays. Operations at Frankfurt have also been affected by strikes and sporadic climate protests, as well as staff shortages at airport operator Fraport AG. Lufthansa has launched a turnaround plan for its namesake airline, a division that has been losing money despite a broader gain in ticket prices. The airline has run up against high personnel costs, delays in the delivery of new jets, and operational processes that managers say have become too complicated. “Planning is cumbersome and the crews are not happy with the results either,” Ritter said in a LinkedIn post last month. “We will renegotiate the rules and simplify them. We do not need more rules or smarter processes. We need less of them.”<br/>
Lufthansa Group carrier Swiss is bringing five more Airbus A350-900s into its fleet, doubling its commitment to the long-haul twinjet. Swiss says it will introduce the additional aircraft from 2027. It initially disclosed plans to take five -900s in late 2022. These aircraft will start arriving in summer next year. The twinjets will replace older Airbus A340-300s. “Our new A350s will make our fleet even more modern,” says CE Jens Fehlinger. Swiss’s A350s are being taken from a broader order by Lufthansa Group. The aircraft will be configured with a cabin interior branded ‘Swiss Senses’. “This is a major investment, and a vital one to ensure that we continue to meet our customers’ high expectations,” adds Fehlinger. “We’re bringing our long-haul aircraft fleet up to a totally new level of modernity, sustainability and in-flight comfort for our guests.” All 10 A350s destined for the Swiss fleet will be operational by 2031.<br/>
South African Airways said it had cancelled flights to Perth and Sao Paulo on Thursday after receiving confirmation from the SAA Pilots Association that they planned to strike following a deadlock in pay talks. The company decided on Wednesday night to cancel the Perth and Sao Paulo routes after being told the strike planned for Thursday would go ahead, Khaya Buthelezi, the airline's senior manager of corporate relations, told Reuters. "That's the decision we took last night since we could not find partner airlines that we can transfer our customers to, it became clear that those two routes must be cancelled," he said.<br/>Early on Thursday, there were no disruptions to domestic flights or routes across Africa as the airline had made contingency plans, Buthelezi said. Some pilots were seen picketing outside the SAA office at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. SAA's interim CEO John Lamola said in a statement that not all SAA pilots were on strike. "Despite some alterations and restrictions to the SAA schedule and services during this period, SAA remains operational," Lamola said. SAA pilot Sibusiso Nxumalo, representing the SAA Pilots Association (SAAPA) and the National Transport Movement Pilots Forum, told public news broadcaster SABC that beyond monetary value, their demands centred around better working conditions and conditions of employment. "The company has made a profit in the past couple of months. It's not like we want a piece of that pie, we just want to have better working conditions," Nxumalo said. SAAPA's initial demand in May was for a 30% increase in pilot salaries, which was subsequently reduced to 15.7%, including associated benefits, SAA said in a statement this week.<br/>Lamola, said in a separate statement that the demand for a 15.7% pay rise would trigger the company's decline into bankruptcy.<br/>
Does Greg Foran regret giving up his plum job running Walmart in the United States to become CE of Air New Zealand? He certainly would have cause to. The rugby-mad Kiwi landed back home as the COVID-19 pandemic approached, and has fought everything from engine part shortages grounding four of its Boeing Dreamliners to a surge of interest from international carriers on his turf. But it does not seem so. “You just get on with it, don’t you?” he says. Actually, Foran, 63, appears to have a spring in his step for the first time since taking charge of Air New Zealand in February 2020. The airline is preparing to unveil a more luxurious cabin for its long-haul services, and resume flying to London, two changes that Foran hopes will give the carrier an advantage when competing with its big rivals. For years, Air New Zealand loomed large over other regional carriers. While Qantas lumbered through industrial disputes and big debts, Air New Zealand expanded. It owned a stake in Virgin Australia and was the first in the world to receive a Dreamliner from Boeing in 2014. By the time Foran arrived, however, Air New Zealand was already contending with more competition, fewer fliers and far lower profits. It had stopped flying to London, selling its valuable Heathrow slots for $US27m in 2020. In the same month Foran arrived, the carrier reported its lowest half-year profit in seven years. The pandemic only worsened the turmoil. Even now, in an era of super profits for the world’s big airlines, Air New Zealand has disappointed. And as Foran spruiked a return to London this week, the airline continued cutting back on domestic flights. To make matters more complicated, it is arguably the government’s fault that Foran has been left with this mess. The New Zealand government owns 51% of the airline – and the current prime minister, Christopher Luxon, was Foran’s predecessor as the carrier’s CE. How hard is it to do the job with Luxon looking over his shoulder? “You’ve got to be conscious of it,” Foran admits in an interview. “But I’ve been around a bit and run some big, complex businesses.”<br/>