FlightGlobal
• Dominic Perry
Lufthansa Technik has entered the final certification phase for AeroSHARK on Airbus A330-200 and A330-300 aircraft, with a Discover Airlines A330-300 set to become the first Airbus aircraft fitted with the shark-skin-inspired surface film. The technology has already been used on Boeing 777 aircraft.
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Lufthansa Technik has entered the final certification phase for AeroSHARK on Airbus A330-200 and A330-300 aircraft, with a Discover Airlines A330-300 set to become the first Airbus aircraft fitted with the shark-skin-inspired surface film. The technology has already been used on Boeing 777 aircraft.
Portugal’s Council of Ministers has approved the start of negotiations with Lufthansa Group and Air France-KLM for the acquisition of a 44.9% stake in TAP Air Portugal, moving the reprivatization process into its final-proposal phase and setting up a direct competition between the two European airline groups.
An EU court has rejected Ryanair’s request for an injunction against aid provided to Lufthansa, a decision that removes an immediate legal obstacle to the German carrier’s support while highlighting continued scrutiny of state assistance and competitive conditions in European aviation.
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Portugal will open a further negotiation round with Lufthansa Group and Air France-KLM after rating their binding bids for a minority stake in TAP as broadly equivalent. Both airline groups will have additional weeks to improve their financial proposals before the government selects a preferred investor.
Aeroflot has acquired Lufthansa’s stakes in catering businesses, marking a corporate transaction between Russia’s flag carrier and the German airline group. The deal affects aviation-adjacent operations rather than aircraft or route networks, adding a new dimension to the companies’ respective portfolio strategies.
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Lufthansa Technik Philippines and Emirates have extended their base-maintenance agreement for the airline’s Airbus A380 fleet through 2030. Heavy checks will continue in Manila, while Emirates will become the launch customer for Lufthansa Technik’s planned Clark facility, adding maintenance capacity in Asia.
Lufthansa Group continues to view Lufthansa Technik as a core portfolio asset while leaving open a future equity partnership or sale. Separately, Lufthansa Technical Training won Bundeswehr certification for theoretical P-8A Poseidon maintenance training, while Rheinmetall’s LUNA NG received provisional military airworthiness approval for training and testing.
Klaus-Michael Kühne, the honorary chairman and majority shareholder of Kuehne+Nagel who built the company into a global logistics provider, has died at 89. He was also Lufthansa Group’s largest individual shareholder and a prominent, sometimes critical, influence on the airline group.
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