American Airlines has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to join Brazilian airframer Embraer’s Energia Advisory Group. The San Jose dos Campos-based company said on 26 September that the US airline joins “an experienced and knowledgeable team of airlines, lessors, suppliers, and other aviation experts advising Embraer on its development of sustainable aircraft for the future”. “We are delighted to work with Embraer to help develop Energia concept aircraft,” says American’s vice-president of sustainability, Jill Blickstein. “As the operator of the largest US regional fleet, we believe industry collaborations aimed at advancing decarbonisation technologies are critical to helping aviation reach its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.” Embraer adds that American will work with the advisory group to help define performance and design requirements for its four Energia concept aircraft, ranging from 9 to 50 seats. The aircraft will use a range of electric, hydrogen and hybrid propulsion technologies. “It’s essential for Energia’s success that we involve a wide variety of air operators,” says Arjan Meijer, Embraer’s CE of commercial aviation. “American joining our advisory group, with their huge presence and expertise, is a significant step for the Energia project.” Embraer revealed the Energia programme in November 2021. Through that effort, Embraer aims to develop low-emission aircraft, supporting the airline industry’s goal of achieving net-zero carbon output by 2050. Norwegian regional carrier Wideroe and China’s Ruili Airlines are also members of the group. <br/>
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Qatar Airways’ top officials have told a parliamentary committee the airline business was “surprised and shocked” when its application to double its flights was rejected in July. Senior executives Matt Raos and Fathi Atti also alleged the airline only found out about the decision via the media, in a claim that was quickly rebutted by the federal government. Amid ongoing controversy over the strip-searching of Australian women at Doha Airport in 2020, Raos – the senior vice president of global sales at Qatar – assured the Senate inquiry into Australia’s aviation sector that the incident was isolated and wouldn’t be repeated. “Let me provide this assurance, this was very much a one-off incident, a very extreme incident. We’ve had nothing like it previously in our history, and we’re completely committed to ensuring nothing like this ever happens again,” Raos said on Wednesday morning. The Coalition launched the Senate inquiry earlier this month into Transport Minister Catherine King’s decision to block Qatar’s bid for more Australian flights. King has repeatedly defended the decision as routine and in the national interest, and has said the searches of the women were a factor. In his opening statement to the inquiry, Raos said the airline generated $3b in economic benefits for Australia and had continued to fly into Australia during the pandemic. “We were there when Australians faced tough times, when other airlines turned their back on Australia, Australia turned to us,” he said. Qatar Airways was one of the few airlines which continued flying at a loss to the country over COVID-19 to fly stranded residents into the country. Raos said Qatar Airways has “never stopped paying refunds” to Australian customers and had so far paid more than $600m in refunds to Australian passengers.<br/>
Qantas’s embattled chair, Richard Goyder, will appear before a Senate inquiry into the Albanese government’s decision to reject Qatar Airways’ request to almost double its flights into Australia as he faces widespread calls for his resignation. Goyder, who will be joined by the new Qantas CEO, Vanessa Hudson, on Wednesday, will be called on to defend the national carrier against a series of criticisms by industry witnesses that the airline has been engaging in anti-competitive behaviour, known as “slot hoarding”. But Qantas’s opposition to Qatar Airways’ expansion, and its lobbying efforts in Canberra, are expected to be front and centre. The announcement of the pair’s appearance follows a statement issued by the airline’s pilots calling for Goyder’s resignation as chair for his role in overseeing “one of the most damaging periods” in Qantas’s history. Hudson and Goyder will not be joined by the former CEO Alan Joyce, whose legal representatives told the committee he will be overseas and unavailable to appear either in person or online before it reports its findings on 9 October. The Virgin Australia CEO, Jayne Hrdlicka, representatives of Qatar Airways, as well as two former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairs, Allan Fels and Rod Sims, will also give evidence before the hearing in Canberra on Wednesday. The Australian and International Pilots Association president, Tony Lucas, said on Tuesday the morale of Qantas pilots has “never been lower”, calling for Goyder to lose his position.<br/>
Pilots at Network Aviation, a subsidiary of Qantas Airways (QAN.AX), voted in favour of taking protected industrial actions that might potentially include bans on flying, the Australian Federation of Air Pilots (AFAP) said on Tuesday. Three pilot groups, including pilots from aircraft charter company Network Aviation, have been negotiating with Qantas management over wage policy revisions. More than 99.5% of AFAP pilot members at Network Aviation voted in a ballot late Monday to approve a number of legally protected industrial actions that include work bans and potential stoppages. Discussions are currently underway over a range of actions while the pilots are set to meet on Wednesday, the AFAP told Reuters in a statement. "No action has yet been scheduled," the AFAP told Reuters, adding that the notice would need to be given to Network Aviation's management in advance of taking any particular action. The Network Aviation pilot group has been in talks with the flag carrier to replace the existing enterprise agreement which was signed in 2016 and expired on Oct. 31, 2020. A spokesperson for QantasLink, an airline brand of Qantas, termed the step towards industrial action by the AFAP as "disappointing". "We're offering our pilots significant pay rises and more guaranteed days off each roster period," the spokesperson said. "We have already reached in-principle agreement with the two other unions representing Network Aviation pilots, and we're continuing to negotiate in good faith to secure new agreements with our turboprop pilots."<br/>