Lufthansa airlines

Lufthansa may face a full strike by its cabin crew members after trade union UFO said on Tuesday the latest round of wage talks with the German flagship carrier had failed.

"We will decide on (whether to call for) further strikes today," a spokesman for the union said, adding UFO may ballot for industrial action.

This was the fourth round of talks in which Lufthansa has been offering a wage increase of up to 10 percent. The package includes better work conditions and profit sharing.

Pushing for a better offer, cabin crews represented by UFO have staged protests twice in the past weeks, forcing the carrier to cancel dozens of flights and cope with delays.

Last July, Lufthansa's passenger numbers were hurt by strikes by ground staff and cabin crew as well as walkouts by regional pilots that forced the carrier to cut flights.

The wage agreement that ended that walkout added about EUR100 million euros (USD$126.5 million) a year to costs, the company has said.

Lufthansa earlier this month raised its full-year 2008 outlook, saying its fourth quarter had yielded stronger results than expected, aided by lower fuel costs.

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Korean Air Q4 Loss Wider Than Forecast

Korean Air Lines reported a worse-than-expected quarterly loss on the weak won but expected it would swing to an annual operating profit in 2009.

Korean Air, the world's largest air cargo carrier, is also set to suffer from declining exports from South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy.

Analysts are worried about falling cargo shipments as Korean Air is highly exposed to South Korean sales of tech products such as semiconductors, mobile phones and flat screens to developed markets.

Airlines worldwide face declining demand for passengers and cargo as the global recession deepens. Last week, Japan's All Nippon Airways said it would fall into the red in the current business year for the first time in six years.

Korean Air said it aimed to post a KRW600 billion won operating profit in 2009, compared with a KRW99.3 billion operating loss in 2008, by focusing on overseas travel demand.

Price competitiveness from the weak won and a marketing drive are helping the airline attract more transit passengers, while US visa waiver programme for South Koreans is expected to support demand for outbound flights.

Korean Air posted a KRW659.5 billion (USD$474.4 million) net loss in the October-December quarter. The result compares with net losses of KRW35.3 billion a year earlier and KRW684.1 billion in the third quarter.

Heavy currency conversion losses from the won's weakness, which fell 26 percent against the dollar last year, hit the company's bottom line.

The soft local currency also resulted in higher costs for imported fuel and plane leasing, Korean Air said.

Fourth-quarter sales were KRW2.71 trillion, higher than the KRW2.3 trillion a year earlier.

Shares in Korean Air ended up 0.15 percent, lagging the wider market's 1.42 percent gain. The stock had fallen 1.8 percent after the results.

Korean Air said it would invest KRW870 billion this year to introduce new aircraft and to build a cargo terminal in China.

Separately it said it ordered two additional A380 superjumbo jets from European aircraft maker Airbus, bringing its total A380 order to ten.

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Airlines Ask US To Withdraw NY Airport Slot Sales

US airlines have asked the Obama administration to withdraw a government plan for boosting competition and reducing congestion by auctioning takeoff and landing rights at New York-area airports.

The chief lobbying group for the major carriers asked Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to swiftly rescind last year's Bush administration initiative.

"As you noted at your confirmation hearing, auctioning slots does not make sense as a tool to address congestion," James May, chief executive of the Air Transport Association, said in a letter to LaHood dated January 22.

May urged LaHood to act before further litigation on the matter. Airlines sued to block the auctions on grounds the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lacked the authority to carry them out.

A US appeals court stayed the auction plan last month pending further court review.

The Bush administration had sought to sell up to 10 percent of rights for takeoffs and landings at LaGuardia and John F Kennedy airports in New York, and Newark in New Jersey, as a way to streamline operations and facilitate new service.

LaGuardia, Newark and JFK, all popular with business travellers, are among the worst airports in the United States for delays and congestion. Airlines tend to pack their schedules and run many flights with feeder aircraft, especially at LaGuardia.

The tie-ups add millions of dollars annually in industry operating costs, and tend to ripple across the country and affect flights in other cities.

US Airways, Delta Air Lines, Continental Airlines, American Airlines and United Airlines all have hubs or other operations at one or more of the three airports.

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