Delta Air Lines

As part of Delta’s plan to expand its presence in Boston, which it considers a “focus city,” the carrier will launch a new non-stop route to Las Vegas. Daily flights will begin Oct. 1, 2018.  Also on Oct. 1, Delta will introduce service between Salt Lake City and El Paso, TX. Additionally, Delta unveiled plans for new service between San Jose, Calif. and New York’s JFK starting June 8, 2018.

In other news, Delta has added an opt-in Communication Cockpit tool for travel managers using the Delta Edge suite. With the enhancement companies can add their names to messaging that Delta sends out directly to corporate travelers. Delta said it is notifying corporate travelers directly when they are eligible for preferred seating or priority boarding.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

Airline officials announced that KLM will no longer sell duty-free cigarettes on board its aircraft effective July 1, 2018. According to a company statement, “We at KLM feel it is no longer suitable to sell cigarettes aboard our flights. KLM supports good health and sportsmanship, which simply cannot be combined with cigarettes.” KLM will instead extend its range of other tax-free items available during flight.

Lufthansa

After a trial run at Los Angeles International Airport, Lufthansa said it will expand its biometrics-based boarding program to other U.S. airports. The program uses special boarding gates with a camera that can capture facial images as flyers approach. In just seconds the images are then matched against records in the Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) database. If there is a match the traveler is marked as “boarded.”  There is no further need to show a passport or boarding pass. Lufthansa says that this new technology allowed it to board a 350-passenger A380 aircraft in just 20 minutes.

Lufthansa also announced that it will introduce new dining options for purchase to passengers in coach and premium economy on select flights. The meals, which will be served on porcelain plates, will be available starting in May and will cost between 19 and 33 euros.

United Airlines

Following a string of problems regarding animals on its aircraft, United said it is suspending its PetSafe animal transport service until May 1, 2018, so it can review the program. Airline officials said existing reservations will be honored, but the carrier is also working with customers who wish to cancel. The suspension of the animal transport service does not affect passengers traveling with pets in the cabin.