Carry On: News for business travellers

Boeing ramps up 787 production
Boeing has completed the first 787 Dreamliner to be built at the increased production rate of seven aircraft month. The Everett factory in Seattle has also made a start, three weeks ahead of schedule, on assembling the first 787-9 model, which will be delivered to launch airline Air New Zealand. The 787-9’s horizontal stabiliser section arrived this week from another Boeing facility and more sections will be delivered over the coming weeks.

So far, Boeing has built 114 787s, with 100 of them completed at the Everett factory. Others are made in South Carolina. The 50 that have been delivered to eight airlines are now resuming service after a three-month grounding. Boeing has more than 800 unfilled orders with 58 customers worldwide. Air New Zealand has 10 787-9s on order between 2014 and 2017.

United advances 787 flights
United Airlines is moving forward its planned Boeing 787 service resumption to May 20 with the Houston-Chicago service. The Dreamliner will then gradually resume operations from Houston to Denver and Los Angeles until July 31 before shifting to International routes. These include Houston-London Heathrow and Denver-Tokyo Narita from June 10; Houston-Lagos and Los Angeles-Tokyo Narita from August 1; and Los Angeles-Shanghai Pu Dong from August 2.

B777X may launch at Paris
Emirates Airline's drive to persuade Boeing to push ahead with its plans to develop the 777X family could see it taking the preferential early delivery slots. Reports in the Gulf say Boeing is believed to have been given the go-ahead by its board to begin selling a new version of its long-range 777s with a formal launch likely at the Paris Air Show next month. Boeing spokeswoman Karen Crabtree says: "We have made great progress in our development work and have begun to discuss additional technical, pricing and schedule details with customers regarding the 777X." The new aircraft, which will compete with the stretched Airbus A350-1000 due in 2017, is likely to be offered in two or three versions with a longer body, carbon-fibre composite wings and GE engines.

Caviar leads culinary coup
Lufthansa has extended its caviar offering in first class to a separate course as part of a culinary upgrade on long and short-haul flights. Both first and business class menus have been changed. The Star Chefs concept has been replaced on outbound flights from Germany with Culinary Delights to display the expertise and products of chefs who have at least two Michelin stars or comparable distinction.

Golden Oldies operations sold
Air New Zealand has sold its Golden Oldies Sports and Event Management operations to Peter McDermott’s Vintage Sports and Leisure (VSL). VSL now stages events for six sports in nine countries on an annual or biennial basis with up to 10,000 travelling each year to participate in cricket, rugby, softball, netball, hockey, football and golf events.

Red lips to stay on Turkish planes
Turkish Airlines is quashing a ban on female flight attendants wearing red lipstick and nail polish, its chief executive says, after an outcry by secular Turks worried the country is becoming too Islamic. The airline has banned alcoholic drinks on domestic and some Arab routes. Earlier, Turkish said the use of red and dark pink lipstick and nail polish would impair the "visual integrity" of its staff. But chief executive Temel Kotil says the order was made by over-zealous junior managers, who did not consult senior bosses about the initiative. "As to the lipstick, we had no problems but somehow low-level managers put together a paper without asking us and that paper leaked to the media and became a big issue," Mr Kotil says.