Swiss crew union Aeropers is seeking rapid amendments to a proposed collective agreement, in order to ensure stability of flight operations over the summer and autumn seasons. Aeropers members have rejected, by over 80%, the latest version of the proposal, after the airline rejected a previous proposal in February. The existing collective agreement expired at the end of March, and pilots have been flying without a valid contract since. Swiss argues that its pilots are the only employee group not to have concluded a crisis-response agreement. But Aeropers believes Swiss will turn in relatively good half-year results for Lufthansa Group, and considers that the proposal would have reduced profit-share for cockpit personnel. Aeropers claims the proposal was “unbalanced” from the outset, given developments over the past few months, including the recent improvement in external conditions. The union argues that the airline wants to “exploit” pilots’ dependency on their jobs and, in response, it had sought three additional measures to “improve” cockpit crews’ situation. Although Swiss rejected these measures, Aeropers nevertheless put the contract to the vote. “Swiss pilots are in a big dilemma,” says the union’s managing director, Henning Hoffmann. “They obviously have to show the management clearly that they are dissatisfied. On the other hand, they don’t want to harm their own company and customers.” Aeropers claims it wants to resume talks with the airline “as soon as possible”, warning: “[If it] does not offer adequate solutions immediately, then the pilots must show the management even more clearly how dissatisfied they are.” Swiss believes the proposal represented a “compromise” that addressed the interests of both sides, and would have provided contractual stability over the next four years. “We regret this referendum result, but we naturally accept this majority decision,” says Swiss operations head Oliver Buchhofer. The airline does not expect the rejection will adversely affect flight operations.<br/>
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Japan's biggest airline ANA on Monday posted a quarterly net profit for the first time in two and a half years as the sector recovers from the financial pain of the pandemic. The relaxation of COVID-19 measures in Japan and various other countries increased demand for domestic and international travel, ANA said, with a cheaper yen also providing a boost. In April to June, the company logged a net profit of 1b yen (US$7.6m), following nine consecutive quarters of losses beginning in January to March 2020, when the virus started to cause havoc worldwide. However, it was still only around a tenth of the airline's net profit in April to June 2019, when Japanese tourism was booming. Although fuel prices and other expenses were higher, "disciplined cost management" and efforts to rein in fixed costs led to a "significant improvement" in profitability, ANA said. Revenue for Q1 was up 76% on-year at 350b yen, but the airline still suffered an operating loss and maintained its annual net profit forecast of 21b yen.<br/>
ANA Holdings has announced its strategy to reduce carbon emissions with the aim of achieving net-zero C02 emissions by 2050. “We are dedicated to achieving our sustainability goals by 2050 and are making investments in multiple areas to meet our commitments,” says ANA holdings president and chief executive Koji Shibata. “Sustainability is a top priority for ANA and by establishing the transition strategies, we hope to lead the airline industry forward into a carbon-neutral future.” In the immediate term, ANA aims to reduce fuel consumption through improved flight operations, additional engine cleaning, and weight reductions aboard aircraft. It will collaborate with the Japanese government in regard to air traffic system improvements, and increasingly rely on more efficient engines and aircraft. Also, ANA aims to replace 10% or more of its fuel consumption with sustainable aviation fuel by 2030. Carbon trading schemes and the direct air capture of CO2 round out its plans to reduce emissions. In addition, it is working with Airbus and Boeing on ways to reduce emissions. “With Boeing, ANA will work together on the development and utilization of sustainable technologies in Japan, including electric, hybrid, hydrogen and other novel propulsion systems,” it says. “With Airbus, ANA has entered into agreement on a joint research project for the development of hydrogen aircraft and infrastructure. While hydrogen and/or electricity-powered aircraft are not included in our transition strategy at this time, the partnership will help ANA Group to diversify its range of options to achieve the Group’s environmental goals by obtaining timely information on advanced technologies and the global ecosystem.” To help fund its environmental efforts, ANA will issue “green” bonds. Two aviation trade bodies of which ANA is a member – AAPA (Asia Pacific Airline Association) and IATA – have both pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.<br/>