A search vessel contracted by the Egyptian government has recovered all mapped human remains under water at the crash site of EgyptAir flight MS804 in the Mediterranean, Egypt's aircraft accident investigation committee said. The John Lethbridge, belonging to Mauritius-based Deep Ocean Search, headed to Alexandria port to hand over the remains to coroners and prosecution officials, the committee said in a statement. It will return to the crash site to make further checks for any possible remains there, the statement said. The Airbus A320 crashed into the eastern Mediterranean en route from Paris to Cairo on May 19 with all 66 people on board killed. The cause of the crash remains unknown. Debris from the jet was taken to Cairo airport last week, where investigators will try to reassemble part of the frame to help establish what might have caused the disaster.<br/>
star
Lufthansa said Ulrik Svensson would be its new CFO, taking over from Simone Menne, who is stepping down in August amid efforts to put the airline on a surer financial footing. The airline said Svensson, currently CEO of Swedish investment company Melker Schörling AB, would take up the role Jan. 1, 2017. Svensson has also worked as Managing Director Finance and CFO of Swiss International Air Lines and played an important role in that company’s turnaround and its acquisition by Lufthansa. Lufthansa is restructuring to cut costs and boost competitiveness. Lufthansa announced in June that Menne would be leaving the company and said Friday that CEO Carsten Spohr will act as financial chief until Svensson comes on board in the new year.<br/>
A United Airlines flight from Sydney to Los Angeles was forced to make an emergency landing at Sydney Airport on Monday after striking a bird, an airline official said. United Airlines Flight 840 struck the bird shortly after takeoff from Sydney, United spokesman Jonathan Guerin said. The plane turned back to Sydney and landed safely a short time later. No one on board was injured. The plane was temporarily taken out of service for maintenance, though the extent of the damage was not immediately known, he said. Passengers will be rebooked on a flight leaving Sydney on Tuesday, Guerin said.<br/>
Austrian Airlines will cancel 300 flights in July and August because of the ongoing integration of 17 Embraer E-195s into its fleet and related pilot trainings. “Austrian Airlines has always stood for punctuality and reliability. In order to live up to this reputation, we have decided to streamline our summer flight schedule,” CEO Kay Kratky said July 1. The carrier has been forced to repeatedly announce short-term flight cancellations over the past year. For example, last June, the Star Alliance member had to cancel 150 flights. The latest decision has particularly affected regional flights, but not long-haul and charter flights. Austrian Airlines will thin out its flight offerings to destinations it serves several times a day, thus bundling flight rotations. Typical destinations affected by the measures include Bucharest (Romania), Prague (Czech Republic), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Zagreb (Croatia). To balance, Austrian Airlines will cancel 300 flights, operating 23,000 flights. “However, in the light of our experience over the last year, I would prefer to ensure the reliability of 99% of our flight schedule instead of flying 100% [unreliable flights],” Kratky said. Austrian Airlines spokesperson Peter Thier said the carrier had planned to wet-lease five aircraft during the summer peak. However, only three wet-leased aircraft had been available, which did not meet the airline's standard.<br/>
LOT Polish Airlines, which recently completed a cabin upgrade in its Boeing 737-400s, placed the first of three newly modernised aircraft into service on its Warsaw-London Heathrow route June 27. The upgraded cabins feature new leather seats, LED lighting with mood-lighting modes and refreshed cabin interior elements. ATW understands the three 737-400s were produced in 1996 and 1997. All of them are undergoing a complete D type overhaul and modernization. Work on the remaining two retrofitted 737-400s is scheduled to be completed by fall. LOT director of product and customer experience bureau Krzysztof Moczulski said the 737s “still offer 162 seats even though some other carriers are capable of squeezing as many as 180.” Each seat is equipped with a universal electronic socket. Moreover, the cabin’s interior now looks modern, thanks to completely new accessories such as carpets or curtains. Also, overhead luggage compartments were refreshed, and the standard of the toilets resemble those familiar from the 787.<br/>