Airline Nation

To celebrate its new non-stop route between Zurich and San Francisco, Swiss International Air Lines has come up with a colourful “flower power” San Francisco livery on one of its Airbus A340-313X.

Taking off soon are Lufthansa’s new Airbus A380 planes, which have been lavishly decorated—in the first-class cabin, at least. Gone are the tiddly toilets and basins, and in their place are separate washing and changing rooms.

Air France KLM appears to be on the verge of being named a minority partner in the reorganized Alitalia, beating out Lufthansa for the right to purchase a 20%-25% stake, according to widespread press reports from Italy.
Investor group Compagnia Aerea Italia met with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi yesterday and “explained . . . their [...]

Etihad Airways could acquire Europe’s third largest low-fare airline, Air Berlin if the deal goes through.
If the deal proceeds, Etihad would be the first to accomplish a takeover across continents, after talks between British Airways and Qantas failed last week. In addition to its commercial limitations, the airlines would face regulatory hurdles such as bilateral [...]

Britain’s BMI is being taken over by Lufthansa for €400m (£318m).

Lufthansa, which already owns just under 30% of BMI, has bought the 50% owned by BMI chairman Sir Michael Bishop, taking its stake to 80%. The remaining 20% of BMI is owned by Sweden-based Scandinavian Airlines, which has said it also wants to sell.

British Airways are currently preparing for their 12-double decker A380’s which should arrive from April 2012.

… The A380 is a much quieter aircraft and is producing only a quarter of the noise of the Boeing 747-400.

Lufthansa to open all-premium Dubai route with PrivatAir BBJ: “Lufthansa is to open a new all-premium Boeing Business Jet service between Munich and Dubai in May in partnership with Swiss-based business aircraft operator”

First in Europe to commence trans-Atlantic green flights
SAS Scandinavian Airlines today concluded Europe’s first commercial
trans-Atlantic green approach trial, which is designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. SK904, an Airbus A330, from New York’s Newark airport arrived early this morning at Stockholm Arlanda Airport, following a successful Continuous Descent Approach (CDA).