German pilot union Vereinigung Cockpit has called off strike action against Lufthansa planned for 7-8 September following an interim agreement during last-minute talks. The union says that the deal, while incomplete, provides both sides with the "opportunity to have a better future", setting a timeframe to build on the full spectrum of issues that need to be agreed. Although the full details of the deal are yet to be released, "the structure side and working side of this agreement is a little bit bigger than before", says Vereinigung Cockpit, adding: "The biggest thing is that there is now time for future discussions." Lufthansa had warned earlier in the day that unless discussions were successful by 12 noon, it would be forced to call off flights, given the need to make aircraft and crew scheduling decisions, as well as to provide some notice to passengers about their flights. The airline group had offered a €500 ($496) increase for pilots from 1 September 2022 and a further €400 from 1 April next year, although Vereinigung Cockpit complained that other areas of concern were being ignored. Lufthansa has been contacted for comment.

Air New Zealand will this month take delivery of an Airbus A321neo, one of three it expects to receive in the "coming months". Another, adorned with a jet-black Star Alliance livery, will arrive in November, after making the 9,625nm (17,825km) journey from the Airbus factory in Hamburg to Auckland via Muscat, Kuala Lumpur and Cairns. That aircraft, fitted with 217 seats, will be operated with Air New Zealand's domestic network, adds the carrier. In May 2020, it deferred planned A321neo deliveries as part of organisation-wide cost-cutting measures. Then, fleets data indicated that its seven on-order A321neos were scheduled to be delivered between January 2022 and April 2024. The data now shows that of the seven, three are scheduled for delivery by year-end, three between February and December 2023, and the last one in September 2026. Air New Zealand already operates seven A321neos, all about three years old. Since aircraft deliveries to the carrier restarted in late 2021, an ATR 72-600 turboprop and two A320neo narrowbodies to its fleet.

Ryanair will next month close its Athens base for the winter season, linking its decision to a "dysfunctional" airport charging structure and a lack of incentives for airlines to serve the airport during off-peak times. The Irish budget carrier says it will stop basing aircraft in Athens on 29 October because the airport does "not offer any incentive to stimulate traffic during the winter season". It adds: "At a time when other governments and airports are reducing fees and introducing tourism recovery programmes, the Greek government continues to apply an airport development fee of €12 [$11.90] per passenger, making Greek access fees uncompetitive." Athens airport is 40%-owned by German operator AviAlliance and 55%-owned by the Greek government. The remaining 5% is held by private investors. Ryanair opened its Athens base in April 2014, stationing two Boeing 737-800s at the airport. The carrier says it has submitted "several growth proposals" to the Greek government since November 2021, and asserts that these could double passenger numbers to 10 million over the next five years. "The airport charging structure in Greece is dysfunctional as it rewards German airport operators who control a vital part of Greek national infrastructure at the expense of tourism, economic development and connectivity," states Ryanair chief executive Eddie Wilson. He adds that the airline will reallocate capacity from Athens to "competitive, lower-cost destinations such as Italy, Spain, Cyprus and Portugal".