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Air Canada is preparing a next-generation business class for its Boeing 787 jets with a spacious ‘business plus’ suite at the front of the cabin. That detail comes from a layout for the Boeing 787-10 revealed at the Star Alliance member’s annual Investor Day, where Air Canada talked up its shift towards a “premium product leadership position.” On its aircraft, this will take the form of new seating layouts to “reflect our focus on premium revenue” by an “increase (in) premium seating capacity” and “new layouts to optimize revenue.” Showcasing the layout of its forthcoming Boeing 787-10 jets due from 2026, Air Canada revealed the first row of its Signature Class business class cabin boasts additional space compared to the seats behind. This suggests Air Canada will follow the lead of several other airlines – including Air New Zealand, JetBlue, Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic – in transforming the first row of the business class cabin into a series of upgraded suites. These ‘business plus’ suites give passengers more privacy, more space, more features, ranging from personal wardrobes to bigger video screens and dining for two. Travellers have to pay for this privilege, of course, with airlines adding a special surcharge on top of the standard business class fare.<br/>

From the use of frequent flyer programmes, moving of flight operations at airport terminals, lounge access, code sharing, and co-ordinated European flight schedule – Lufthansa Group has moved quickly to outline the initial wave of passenger benefits from its recently completed 41% stake investment in Italian airline ITA Airways. At a press conference in Rome, Carsten Spohr, CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Sandro Pappalardo, Chairman of ITA Airways, and Joerg Eberhart, CEO of ITA Airways, presented the first concrete steps and improvements for customers. With immediate effect, 36m Miles & More members can earn and redeem miles on all ITA Airways flights. At the same time, the 2.7m members of the ITA Airways’ frequent flyer programme Volare can earn and redeem their points on all flights operated by Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines. Under one roof in Frankfurt and Munich: Using the same terminal is an essential prerequisite for quick and comfortable transfers at the Lufthansa Group’s hubs. With the start of the upcoming summer flight schedule, ITA Airways will move into the Lufthansa Airlines terminals in Frankfurt and Munich – into Terminal 1 in Frankfurt and into Terminal 2 in Munich. This will significantly reduce passengers’ transfer times. At all other hubs of the group, as well as in Rome-Fiumicino and Milan-Linate, the Lufthansa Group airlines already offer their flights in the same terminal areas as ITA Airways.<br/>

EgyptAir plans to double its passenger numbers to 22m over the next five years and expand its fleet from 65 to 125 aircraft. Overseeing that growth plan is chairman and CEO Yehia Zakaria, who has headed the EgyptAir Group since 2022. <br/>

Singapore Airlines (SIA) said its staff have the right to a safe work environment, after an incident where a passenger “verbally and physically abused” cabin crew on board its plane on Feb 6. In response to The Straits Times’ queries, an SIA spokesperson said the incident with the abusive passenger – whose details, including gender, the national carrier did not reveal, citing customer confidentiality – took place on board Flight SQ826. The flight was scheduled to depart Singapore for Shanghai at 1.15am, and the plane was taxiing for take-off at the time. After assessing the situation, the pilots decided to return to the gate to “offload” the passenger and their companion to ensure the safety of others on board, the spokesperson said. The two were handed over to the local authorities at Changi Airport. Said the spokesperson: “SIA believes that all our employees have a right to a safe and respectful workplace environment. We do not tolerate any form of unruly or abusive behaviour, whether on the ground or in the air.” As a result of the incident, the flight was delayed by 1 hour and 46 minutes, and departed Singapore only at 3.01am. SIA said the safety of its customers and staff is its top priority, and apologised to customers on board the flight for the inconvenience caused by the incident.<br/>