The union representing more than 700 WestJet employees at airports in Calgary and Vancouver says workers have voted to support a strike if they cannot reach a new contract with the airline. It could happen as soon as July 27. Unifor Local 531 represents baggage service agents, customer service agents and guest service leads, among others, in the two cities. The union says after months of negotiating the two sides are still far apart on multiple subjects. One in particular is a sticking point. "The biggest issue is wages," Unifor's director of airlines Leslie Dias told CTV News. "This is a group that hasn't seen their wage scale increase since April 2017. The company cannot hire and retain workers at the pay rate that they're paying today. As the airline rebuilds, the majority of its airports employees have been with the company for less than one year, and the vast majority of more tenured airport employees have received increases through the existing pay step structure," said WestJet's executive VP Angela Avery. "WestJet is committed to competitive compensation that recognizes airport employee contributions, while ensuring the airline is positioned to return to profitability. This is a common step in the labour negotiation process and was not unexpected." Dias says the workers voted 98% in favour of a strike if a deal cannot be reached. It has the potential to be the latest blow to a Canadian air travel sector that has been in disarray for months. <br/>
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Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of easyJet, has called a truce in a long-running and bitter battle with the airline’s management and supported the purchase of more than 50 new aircraft. Haji-Ioannou, the low-cost airline’s biggest shareholder, voted in favour of a multibillion-dollar order from Airbus at a shareholder meeting on Wednesday. The resolution was overwhelmingly backed by shareholders that voted. The vote of support for the Airbus deal follows years of rancour, as Haji-Ioannou battled a string of chief executives and board members over the future of the company he founded in 1995. Haji-Ioannou led a concerted effort to torpedo an original agreement for new planes with Airbus in 2013. He hit what he called “an all-time low” in 2020 when he threatened personally to sue the “scoundrels” running the airline. In the same year he also lost a bid to oust four directors of the company, including current chief executive Johan Lundgren, and offered a multimillion-pound reward for information that could lead to the cancellation of the airline’s contract with Airbus. The aircraft order Haji-Ioannou has backed was signed in June and is part of the wider agreement that he once opposed vigorously. It includes 56 A320neo aircraft, as well as the conversion of an order of 18 A320neo to 18 A321neo aircraft.<br/>
Azerbaijan Airlines has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the Farnborough Airshow to acquire four more Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner jets, its president Jahangir Askerov said on Wednesday. Askerov said the airline is due to sign a contract for the planes in December and plans to own 10 of the planes by 2030, allowing it open new routes across Central Asia. It currently operates two 787-8 jets. The airline previously had a contract with Boeing to purchase 10 737 MAX jets that it postponed in 2019. "We're not thinking about purchasing MAX for now. This would be the topic for negotiations," Askerov said. "Azerbaijan Airlines was the first airline in the Caspian and Central Asia region to operate the 787-8 Dreamliner and we currently have two 787-8s in service," he added.<br/>
The European Union has lifted sanctions on Syrian airline Cham Wings, representatives for the EU and the airline said on Wednesday, after the privately owned company was blacklisted over accusations it was helping smuggle migrants into the bloc. The EU imposed the sanctions in December, accusing it of flying people to Belarus so they could then illegally cross the EU's external borders in what flared up into a migration and humanitarian crisis. The airline had already been blacklisted by the United States, who said the Syrian government had used the airline to transport militants, weapons, and other equipment during the conflict raging in the country since 2011. The EU decision to remove it from the sanctions list was signed on July 18 by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, according to a statement by an EU spokesperson. "The Council took the decision to delist Cham Wings, as it considered that the restrictive measures brought the desired effect with regards to this entity. According to information presented to the Council, Cham Wings ceased its involvement in the activities for which it was listed," the spokesperson said.<br/>
VietJet Aviation confirmed a deal for 200 Boeing 737 Max jets, giving the US planemaker another boost at one of the industry’s biggest events. The first 50 aircraft will be delivered to Thai VietJet, the Vietnamese budget carrier’s affiliate in Thailand, the company said in a Tuesday release issued during the Farnborough International Airshow in the UK. “Today’s agreement is a strategic move for VietJet and Boeing,” VietJet Managing Director Dinh Viet Phuong said in the statement. The pact confirms each party’s “commitment to keep up with Vietjet’s international flight network expansion plan with a higher capacity.” The carrier said in a separate statement the order is worth around $35b, including associated engine engineering services, and would bring around 200,000 jobs to the US. Sticker prices for jets are generally significantly reduced in large deals. “The order is also expected to attract investment into Vietnam’s aviation industry, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs for the country’s aviation industry, including airports, air traffic control, technical services, training centers, technology transfer, component research and manufacturing,” VietJet said. VietJet, known for its bikini-clad flight attendants, agreed in 2018 to double its order for Max jets to 200 after it signed an initial deal in 2016 during a visit to Vietnam by then-US President Barack Obama. The carrier’s announcement reaffirms that accord. The agreement will also help Boeing shrug off nervousness over the 737 Max, which was grounded worldwide following two deadly crashes. The planemaker has made extensive fixes to the model following the accidents, and most regulators around the world have now approved the plane to fly again.<br/>