Ryanair’s British pilot union is to ballot members on possible strike action in coming weeks in a dispute over working conditions, the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) announced on Wednesday. The results of the ballot are due on August 7 and strike action by pilots in the airline’s largest market could take place two weeks later, the union told members in a memo. The ballot is a setback for management at Europe’s largest low-cost carrier, who have in recent months said they had largely resolved an industrial relations dispute with pilots and cabin crew. Ryanair suffered a series of damaging strikes last year after the carrier bowed to pressure in late 2017 to recognise unions for the first time. But since then it has signed collective labour agreements with a number of pilot unions throughout Europe. BALPA General Secretary Brian Strutton said that no progress had been made in talks on issues including pensions, maternity benefits and “a fair, transparent, and consistent pay structure.” “We have not been able to make any progress with Ryanair at all on any of our areas of concern,” Strutton said. In the memo, BALPA said its members in a consultative ballot had overwhelmingly supported the move to hold a vote on strike action. It said it understood that pilot union colleagues in Spain, Ireland, Sweden and Germany had made “little, if any, meaningful progress” in talks with Ryanair. Ryanair, which says it offers some of the best conditions for low-cost short-haul Boeing pilots in Europe, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<br/>
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Shandong Airlines is expecting a net loss of up to CNY28.5m ($4.14m) for the six months ended 30 June, citing the ongoing grounding of the Boeing 737 Max among the reasons for the forecast. In a stock exchange disclosure, the carrier put its guidance for attributable net profit to be between CNY15m and CNY28.5m. This was in stark contrast to the CNY203m net profit reported for the same period last year. Apart from the 737 Max grounding, the airline noted that currency fluctuations that have impacted its costs, and it has faced increased competition on some sectors of its network. The 737 Max is the subject of an ongoing worldwide grounding, after two deadly crashes in a span of less than of five months. China was the first country to ground the Max on 11 March.<br/>
El Al Israel Airlines will retire its remaining three Boeing 747-400s by the end of October, the carrier said July 16. A fourth 747-400 was phased out July 9 after completing a flight from New York. That aircraft was in service with the carrier for 25 years and made 11,000 flights. El Al has been a 747 operator since 1971, when it took delivery of two 747-200s. The 747-400s are being replaced by 787-9s. The carrier took delivery of its 11th 787-9 on July 14 and expects five more by 2020. In February, El Al retired its last 767-300ER, 36 years after the widebody entered service.<br/>