sky

The FAA and law enforcement are investigating after a passenger allegedly attacked a number of people on a Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles on Monday. Shortly after Delta Flight 501 landed at LAX, staff on board reported an adult male was restrained after biting one passenger and hitting others, according to the LA Fire Department and the Transportation Security Administration. An ambulance took the restrained man to the hospital for a psychological evaluation and later returned to examine a passenger he had injured, LAFD said. “Delta has zero tolerance for unruly behavior and will work with law enforcement authorities,” airline spokeswoman Samantha Moore Facteau told CNN. It’s not clear what happened after this passenger was taken to the hospital, but he could face criminal or civil penalties. More than 2,100 reports of unruly passengers were logged by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2024, according to figures on the agency’s website. More than 300 such incidents have been logged so far this year.<br/>

Air France-KLM is in talks to take a stake in Spanish airline Air Europa and is looking to boost its existing holding in Scandinavian carrier SAS to a majority, CEO Ben Smith told Reuters on Tuesday. "We've had a meeting with Air Europa," Smith told Reuters in an interview in Paris, confirming for the first time the French-Dutch carrier was interested in buying a stake. He added that it was also on track to increase its stake in SAS as the carrier was meeting the necessary milestones, including integration into the SkyTeam airline alliance, of which Air France-KLM is also a member. Smith declined to disclose further details about the nature of the Air Europa talks, or the size of either planned stake. In November, the airline said discussions were underway about commercial cooperation with Air Europa within the framework of the SkyTeam alliance, but it would not comment on any plans to acquire a stake. Some analysts have valued the airline at up to E1b. The stake sale would be aimed at raising funds to pay back government loans worth about E475m granted during the pandemic. German airline group Lufthansa is also interested in acquiring a minority stake. The stake sale would mark the next phase of the consolidation of Europe's fragmented airline industry, which executives say is needed to compete with U.S. and Middle Eastern rivals. Doing smaller deals rather than buying an airline outright would also help get regulatory approval and expand Air France's business in the lucrative southern European market. Air Europa flies within Spain and between Madrid and large cities in Europe and Latin America.<br/>

Air France on Tuesday unveiled a new first-class suite as it expands efforts to lure wealthy travellers from business jets and lend a 'French touch' to the tussle for premium revenue. The CEO of parent Air France-KLM , Ben Smith, told Reuters the unspecified investment aimed to place Air France at the top of the European league in airline luxury, signalling a battle with British Airways and Lufthansa. "A large percentage of the customers are flying for business reasons ... Many of them have the choice of a private jet or flying in first class," Smith said in an interview. "What is new for us over the last few years is a marked increase in the number of luxury customers that are flying for leisure purposes." The air travel industry is locked in a battle for high fare-paying customers as it recovers from the pandemic but is split over the value of investing in first class, with many carriers focusing on steady improvements in business-class seating. Air France's latest first-class cabin, laid out in four pairs of grey, red-accented beds and seats on select planes, follows a years-long effort to re-invent a once loss-making product since Smith joined the national carrier in 2018. The Canadian executive has long been a champion of first class even as many rivals retrench to business class. But he said only a handful of airlines had the depth of demand or ability to tap into assets like France as a destination. "A lot of people like to experience France. When they get on the airplane outside France, they want to start their journey from San Francisco, Tokyo or Sao Paulo already in France through the environment on the airplane," he said.<br/>

Israel's flag carrier airline, El Al signed a codeshare agreement with Romanian state-owned TAROM Airlines on Tuesday. Under the agreement, EL Al's flight code (LY) will be added to TAROM-operated flights between Tel Aviv and Bucharest. The number of weekly flights on the route will increase to 18, and the first flight under the new agreement will travel on April 1. One benefit of the codeshare agreement is that members of El Al’s frequent flyer program, including new enrollees, will be able to earn points on flights to Bucharest. The signing of the agreement was held at El Al's headquarters at Ben-Gurion Airport and was attended by Romania's Ambassador to Israel, Radu Ioanid.<br/>