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Korean Air Lines faces heavy resistance to a planned acquisition of domestic rival Asiana Airlines, including from a major shareholder of KAL's parent company that fears a dilution of its stake. Korea Corporate Governance Investment, an activist fund and major Hanjin KAL shareholder, expressed "strong opposition" to such a takeover immediately after local media reported the proposal. In an unusual step, the fund indicated its stance even before a formal announcement of the plan was made. The acquisition plan calls for Hanjin KAL to receive 800b won ($721m) in fresh capital from state-backed lender Korean Development Bank. KAL will use this cash to buy new shares in Asiana, turning the smaller rival into a subsidiary. The activist fund, known as KCGI, asserts that the government-supported arrangement gives an edge to KAL management, as the two sides have been in conflict. The deal likely would dilute KCGI's stake in Hanjin KAL, of which 41.3% is owned by Chairman and CE Cho Won-tae and some of his family. On Friday, KCGI demanded that Hanjin KAL hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting. Hanjin KAL's board has no plans to accommodate the request and intends to complete the development bank's investment before the company's general meeting next spring. KCGI has indicated it is willing to take legal action to counter the aviation group's efforts. The labor unions of KAL and Asiana also are taking a stand against the acquisition, which is designed to help the struggling airlines ride out the coronavirus pandemic. The bank's plan calls for integrating KAL and Asiana in several years, while a proposal to combine their three low-cost carriers also has been floated. With elimination of overlapping service appearing certain, the unions are worried about job cuts.<br/>

An Air New Zealand staff member who tested positive for Covid-19 likely caught the virus overseas, the Ministry of Health says. Genome sequencing was completed overnight and the results were announced at 1pm on Thursday. “Results of genome sequencing show that the lineage of this infection is not associated with any New Zealand cases that have been sequenced, indicating international exposure is most likely,” the ministry said. The worker returned a positive test for the virus while in China, then again in New Zealand after arriving back on Wednesday. “Because this case was first reported in China, it is officially a case in China, not New Zealand – so while we are reporting on it, it does not enter into our official count of Covid-19 cases,” the ministry said. “The ministry continues to investigate how this most recent confirmed Covid-19 case was contracted. Although the source of the infection is still unknown, we are continuing to take precautionary actions within New Zealand.” The worker and 13 other crew members are now in the Auckland quarantine facility, Jet Park. “Further test samples from close contacts of the staff member have been processed rapidly and nine results have been returned, all of which are negative,” the ministry said. Dr Ben Johnston, Air New Zealand's chief medical officer, said Thursday the crew member had arrived back in the country on a cargo flight on Wednesday morning. “While this was considered a possible case, we still took every precaution to care for our crew and arrange their safe return home,” he said. “The crew were in separate rooms in a quarantine facility managed by the Chinese authorities and travelled back to New Zealand on a cargo-only flight so they would not come into contact with customers.”<br/>

SIA and SilkAir will be offering a wider range of main courses on flights under 3.5 hours from 1 December in new eco-friendly leak-proof boxes, replacing the familiar plastic casserole service ware. To provide a greater variety of local and international favourites on short-haul routes as part of its new Economy Class meal concept, the airlines will be introducing more than 40 new dishes on rotation on different flights. Congee, laksa and gravy-rich mee siam that were previously not available in Economy Class will be served on selected flights. “We are delighted to be able to offer a greater variety and quality of meals on our short-haul flights, including selections from Singapore’s popular local favourites that we hope both Singaporeans and international customers will find familiar and comforting,” said Yeoh Phee Teik, Senior VP Customer Experience, Singapore Airlines. Developed jointly by SIA and SATS, the airline’s Singapore-based catering partner, SIA will also be replacing its plastic casserole service ware with a leak-proof box and cup made of Forest Stewardship Council certified paper. A dessert box and a cutlery pack made of bamboo with a paper wrap will also be introduced to reduce the amount of single-use plastics. Holding the same amount of food as the casserole, the box is, however, deeper and more secure, allowing it to retain gravy and soupy dishes without any seepage. It is also oven-safe and resistant to overheating, ensuring that food quality is preserved even after reheating. The new changes, which were developed after months of research and development, will cut single-use plastics, including cups and polybags for cutlery, by 80% by weight on the meal tray. Leftovers on the tray, including the new service ware, will be brought back to Singapore and sent to an ecodigester at SATS. It will then be converted into pellets that can be used as refuse-derived fuel, a source of energy that can replace fossil fuel and coal.<br/>

Lufthansa is trialling new sleeper seats for economy class passengers with a view to rolling them out across a number of intercontinental routes. The new seating concept, named “Sleeper’s Row”, is being tested on long haul flights between Frankfurt and Sao Paulo from 18 November until an as-yet unconfirmed date in mid December. Essentially, passengers already flying on the route are given the option of upgrading their economy experience by booking an entire row of three or four seats for themselves, either at check-in or at the gate. Available on flights LH506 and LH507 only, the upgrades will cost E220 or US$260 one-way, with payment made by credit card. The seats will be for their private use for the duration of the flight and, because it depends on how busy the flight is, no advance reservation is possible. As part of the service, the passenger will receive a soft topper mattress, cushion and blanket. They will also receive priority boarding, meaning they can board the plane with business class passengers and settle into their row ahead of other economy passengers. The airline said that depending on customer feedback they will be looking at rolling out the concept across more intercontinental destinations on the Lufthansa Group network.<br/>