Passengers travelling in all cabins on Star Alliance member airlines can now choose to experience the premium lounge before their flight.<br/>Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline alliance, is now offering paid access to the Star Alliance-branded lounge at Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) airport. In addition to offering complimentary access to Star Alliance Gold members, and First Class and Business Class passengers, the lounge will now welcome other Star Alliance passengers regardless of membership status or cabin class, for a nominal fee. This is the fifth among the six Star Alliance-branded lounges to offer paid access, after the Star Alliance lounges in Rome (FCO) Airport, Rio De Janeiro (GIG) Airport, Buenos Aires’ Ezeiza International Airport (EZE), and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The Star Alliance Amsterdam airport lounge is located airside in Departures Hall 2 after security clearance for the Schengen Area. This makes it ideally positioned for easy access to passengers travelling to or from European destinations within the Schengen Zone. Currently, 14 Star Alliance member airlines operate flights from the Amsterdam airport connecting 20 destinations in 16 countries. The lounge offers a sleek, contemporary space inspired by Holland’s ever-changing skies and landscapes. Decorated with original Dutch furniture and art, the lounge offers free Wi-Fi and spaces dedicated to business and leisure flyers, including personal work booths, a communal worktable, a bar, and spacious dining and relaxation areas. It can accommodate up to 150 guests. Star Alliance VP Customer Experience Christian Draeger said: “We are pleased to announce that our Amsterdam lounge has become the latest Star Alliance-branded lounge to offer pay-per-use entry. With this, all passengers passing through Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on Star Alliance carriers have the option to relax in our stylish, well-appointed lounge, regardless of cabin class or membership status. The lounge is especially convenient for passengers travelling within the Schengen zone who want to kick back and enjoy a meal or get some work done comfortably before they board their flight.” <br/>
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A fire from the battery of an electrical device aboard a United Airlines flight forced a Newark-bound plane to return to San Diego on Tuesday and sent four people to the hospital, officials say. The flight crew aboard United Flight 2664 prevented the fire from spreading further, and the plane returned to the airport, according to a tweet from the San Diego Fire Department. Emergency personnel responded and are currently treating passengers, said San Diego International Airport (SAN) spokesperson Sabrina LoPiccolo. FlightAware data shows that the aircraft, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, took off from the airport at 7:07 a.m. Pacific Time and landed back in San Diego at 7:51 a.m. Fire crews evaluated all passengers and crew, and four people were taken to the hospital. Two others declined further treatment, according to another tweet from the San Diego Fire Department. FAA spokesperson Ian Gregor said the fire was from a laptop battery. “The FAA will investigate,” Gregor said. Flight attendants who are credited with containing the fire are among those taken to the hospital, according to the airline. “Our crew acted quickly to contain the device and medical personnel met the aircraft upon arrival at the gate,” said United Airlines spokesperson Charles Hobart in a statement to CNN. “Several flight attendants were taken to the hospital as a precaution, and two customers were evaluated onsite. We thank our crew for their quick actions in prioritizing the safety of everyone on board the aircraft and we are making arrangements to get our customers to their destinations.” <br/>
As of February 7th, Turkish Airlines has flown groups of rescue and relief workers into the affected areas in Turkey while also evacuating hundreds of affected residents. The airline has fixed prices for departing passengers, ensuring that everyone who needs to leave can do so at an affordable rate. The airline set its fixed rate for airfare into and out of the region at TL 100 ($5.30). It chose this number as it is affordable and enough to help cover some operating costs. At this rate, the airline has flown in over 11,000 volunteers and flown out roughly the same number of people. Since the earthquake first occurred yesterday, Monday, February 6th, the airline has diverted 80 planes to the area to help with relief efforts. These planes continue transporting passengers and humanitarian aid between the region and the airline's hub at Istanbul Airport. Turkish Airlines has coordinated relief efforts with the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority. Through the AFAD, volunteers arriving on the airline's relief flights have been quickly integrated into rescue and support efforts. Earlier today, the CEO of Turkish Airlines, Bilal Ekşi, shared the airline's support and gratitude for the thousands of volunteers that poured into airport terminals wanting to help with relief efforts wherever possible, stating, "About 11,780 of our volunteer citizens who came to our airports to go to the earthquake zone following the invitation of AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Authority), were taken to Adana, Gaziantep, Adiyaman and Urfa with a total of 80 flights this morning until 7 a.m."<br/>
KLM is to restore services to Beijing and increase frequencies to Shanghai this summer, while Swiss International Air Lines will resume passenger flights to the latter Chinese city. They become the latest European carriers to takes steps to rebuild their passenger networks to mainland China following the easing in Covid-related travel rules earlier this year. Swiss will resume weekly flights linking Zurich to Shanghai from 3 March, raising frequency to thrice-weekly from April. The Lufthansa Group carrier served Shanghai daily and Beijing four-times-weekly before the pandemic. While China eased travel restrictions from early January, there was initially a lukewarm reaction from European carriers and governments to restoring air services. Amid the spike in Covid cases in China that accompanied the easing of its zero-Covid policy, European states introduced additional Covid testing requirement for arrivals from the country. Airlines meanwhile, many of whom are facing a stretch on aircraft capacity, bided their time on returning capacity to China. Serving China has also become more challenging, as in keeping with other Asian destinations, route times have increased because European carriers are unable to overfly Russia – a restriction which does not apply to their Chinese counterparts.<br/>
L3Harris Technologies has secured a contract from Japan’s All Nippon Airways to train pilots in the United Kingdom. The contract builds on L3Harris’s previous contract with ANA low-cost unit Peach Aviation, says the company. “This agreement shows the confidence ANA has in the quality of L3Harris’ training capabilities,” says David Coward, Vice President and General Manager, Airline Academy, L3Harris. “The ANA Group already entrusts us to train its pilots for Peach Aviation and now we will play an even more important role in preparing pilots for its flagship carrier.” From March, ANA cadets will attend a 60-week single and multi-engine flight and ground school in England, before returning to Japan. L3Harris did not provide the length of the contract, or the financial terms involved. Back in the Japan they will complete their Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau License. According to the company’s website, L3Harris conducts pilot training at several facilities in the UK, including the London Training Centre at Cranfield Airline Academy.<br/>
Air New Zealand has added Heart Aerospace, Embraer and Universal Hydrogen to a list of long-term partners, alongside ATR and Airbus, who are working with the carrier to replace its fleet of domestic turboprops with a greener option from 2030. The Auckland-based airline says the partnerships will help it “accelerate the development and introduction of zero-emissions aircraft technology for the regional fleet in New Zealand”. Air NZ is seeking a successor to its fleet of De Havilland Canada Dash 8 Q300 twin-turboprops under an initiative known as Mission Next Gen. “Through our partnerships with Airbus and ATR, we’ve been able to deepen our understanding of the impact green hydrogen and battery-hybrid aircraft may have on our network, operations and infrastructure, as well as the opportunities and challenges of flying low- and zero-emissions aircraft in New Zealand,” says Air NZ chief sustainability officer Kiri Hannifin. “Adding Universal Hydrogen, Embraer and Heart Aerospace will broaden our knowledge of the technologies being developed for potential future aircraft.” Air NZ was already a member of Swedish developer Heart Aerospace’s industry advisory board for its ES-30 hybrid-electric 30-seater and now joins a similar grouping helping to shape Embraer’s Energia project. “Smaller, regional aircraft are going to be the first platforms on which new fuel and propulsion systems can be introduced effectively. Embraer looks forward to contributing to Air New Zealand’s initiative and adding their expertise and requirements into Embraer’s Energia project,” says Arjan Meijer, CE of Embraer Commercial Aviation. <br/>