Lufthansa pilots strike, upend airline travel

Thousands of travelers scrambled to find flights, trains, hotel rooms or rental cars on Monday after Lufthansa pilots began a four-day walkout over job security that grounded at least 800 flights and upended travel across the continent. Deutsche Lufthansa AG quickly rushed to get a court injunction to halt the strike and send 4,000 pilots [...]

Airlines seek to boost market for biofuels

Fifteen airlines and air cargo carriers from the United States and three other countries said Tuesday they have signed memorandums that could lead to the purchase of hundreds of millions of gallons (liters) of fuel made from either coal or camelina, a weed that is a cousin to canola. The Air Transport Association said airlines [...]

Continental Airlines joins Star Alliance

Continental Airlines on Tuesday officially joined the Star Alliance, a move it says will give passengers more options and the airline more places to expand. The Star Alliance is the world’s biggest airline grouping, with 25 members; including United, US Airways, Lufthansa and Air Canada. Continental was a member of the SkyTeam alliance, but left [...]

Lufthansa to launch in-flight Web, phone system

Deutsche Lufthansa AG said Monday it will develop with Panasonic Corp. a service to offer passengers in-flight Internet and cell phone connections. Lufthansa said the service, known as FlyNet, will be available starting in mid-2010. The Cologne-based airline said it hopes to equip a major part of its long-haul planes in the service’s first year, [...]

JetBlue eyeing more international partners

The chief executive of JetBlue Airways Corp. says the carrier will seek out more international partners, as it looks for ways to attract new customers without hefty investments. Speaking at the JPMorgan investors conference Tuesday, CEO Dave Barger said he is “quite optimistic” the company can form new international partnerships and begin to “take advantage [...]