“Today aviation represents 2% of global CO2 emissions,” said IAG’s CEO, Willie Walsh. “We’re investing in new aircraft and innovative technology to reduce our carbon footprint in an industry where there’s no current alternative to jet fuel.”

“In addition to our own initiatives, there must be a global solution and we’re participating in the new United Nations’ aviation offsetting scheme which allows our industry to invest in carbon reduction in other sectors,” Walsh added.

The airline group is pursuing several initiatives to reduce its emissions. Among those, IAG said it will replace older aircraft in its fleet with 142 new aircraft, worth US$27 billion and up to 25% more carbon-efficient, over the next five years.

IAG is also investing $400 million in sustainable jet fuel over the next 20 years, including through British Airways’ partnership with Velocys to build a household waste-to-jet fuel plant in the United Kingdom, with a start-up target of 2024. According to a statement from IAG, the plant will turn household waste into sustainable fuel, producing 70% fewer emissions than fossil fuel.

Several European operators are moving to reduce their carbon footprint, but the green logistics movement is also gaining global traction. Last month, Amazon placed an order for 100,000 electric delivery vehicles while also announcing its new Climate Pledge, aiming to meet the Paris Agreement 10 years ahead of schedule. Kuwait-based Agility Ventures also recently announced an $18 million investment in technologies to make its supply chain more energy efficient.

Management from the airline and representatives of the British Airlines Pilots Association, or Balpa, are meeting in London Friday at the U.K.’s state-backed Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service after the carrier, a unit of IAG SA, failed in a bid to have a court block the strike plans.

Following the ruling on Wednesday, Balpa said it would participate in the talks until the end of the week and, if a deal wasn’t found, give management a required two-week strike notice. Crews have voted with a 93% majority to approve industrial action, which the carrier has said could cost about 40 million pounds ($48 million) per day.

“Our talks with Balpa continue, and we remain open and flexible to find a solution,” BA said in a statement. A representative from Balpa declined to comment on the talks.

The disruption would come at the tail end of the peak season for European travel and could dent IAG earnings. The group reported Friday that BA’s lucrative long-haul routes helped lift second-quarter operating profit 18% to give it the best performance among leading European carriers. The airline is also facing pressure from a possible no-deal Brexit that could dampen travel from the U.K. as consumers cut back spending due to the weakening pound.

IAG Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh said the group’s other airlines, including Iberia and Vueling in Spain and Ireland’s Aer Lingus, would help in the event of any labor strife at BA. It would also try to benefit from any reduction in capacity if strikes go ahead, he said.

“BA will do whatever they can do to assist the customers,” Walsh said on a call with analysts about results. “The rest of the group will do what they can do to take advantage of the unfortunate situation and support and help BA in their efforts to look after customers.”

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Qatar Airways’ move to bump its stake to 15.1 percent comes on the heels of a recent jump from 9.99 percent to 12 percent just last month. Qatar officials said that it may further increase its stake to 49 percent, which is the maximum limit on foreign-ownership currently imposed by European Union regulators.

Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways, said the deal is part of the airline’s “westbound strategy” to branch out of the Middle East and Asia, and into Europe and the Americas. “It gives us a huge benefit from a financial, commercial and strategic perspective,” Al Baker added.

State-owned Qatar Airways took its first 9.99 percent stake in IAG in January 2015, at a time when legacy carriers in the United States and Europe were complaining that Gulf carriers were receiving unfair government subsidies which enabled their rapid growth and expansion.

As Qatar’s ownership in IAG increases, additional cargo handling synergies are also expected. IAG exited the freighter business in 2014, while Qatar Airways Cargo continues to operate a robust freighter fleet that includes eight A330-200Fs and nine 777Fs. IAG Cargo has, in turn, secured block-space on various QA operated routes since September 2014.

All carriers involved are members of the One World Alliance. By forming these new partnerships, the goal is for each to extend their reach into previously untapped markets. While there was no explicit mention of cargo in the proposals, there may be significant airfreight opportunities, due to the use of widebody belly space on the routes.

LATAM and IAG, combined, would offer more than 100 South American destinations and 87 more in Europe. The pair also intends to launch new routes as well. It is estimated that the deal will give the two carriers control of more than 30 percent of the market between Europe and South America.

The agreement with American Airlines would involve flights between the United States, Canada and six South American countries. American and IAG already have an alliance, regarded as the industry’s most profitable partnership for business travel, according to Bloomberg.

Intercontinental deals between airlines require regulatory approvals in each country involved.

Cecil was a well-known lion who lived in a Zimbabwean game reserve. As a subject of a study by an Oxford University-based conservation group, Cecil was fitted with a tracking device to observe his movements. Despite these protections, in early July a hunting party lured the lion off the reserve by dragging a dead animal behind their vehicle and later killed the lion, which is listed as a “threatened” species.

In the wake of the Cecil incident, which drew worldwide outrage on social media, a group of airlines, including Air France, KLM, IAG Cargo, Iberia, Singapore Airlines and Qantas, have all said they would ban the transport of hunting trophies. South African Airways had previously banned carrying hunting trophies, but SAA mysteriously lifted its ban in late July, perhaps under pressure from the Professional Hunter’s Association of South Africa.

Virgin owner Sir Richard Branson said his airline had never carried slaughtered big game as cargo, while British Airways said it operated with a “total ban on any form of hunting trophies” as cargo. Delta said “effective immediately, Delta will officially ban shipment of all lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo trophies worldwide as freight.”

Now, UPS is coming under fire because it is still going to allow hunting trophies in its cargo. The animal rights website The Dodo said that UPS is now the “number one target” of the Humane Society International. “We urge UPS to join the growing list of airlines that prohibit the transport of trophies,” said Teresa Telecky, Ph.D., director of the wildlife department for the nonprofit group.

In a statement to the Washington Post, UPS public relations director Susan Rosenberg said, “UPS takes many factors under consideration in establishing its shipping policies, including the legality of the contents and additional procedures required to ensure compliance. We avoid making judgments on the appropriateness of the contents. All shipments must comply with all laws, including any relevant documentation from the shipper required in the origin and destination location of the shipments.”

Although the list changes daily, the carriers which will still transport hunting trophies are: Air Algérie, Air Berlin, Air Canada, Air China, Alaska Airlines, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, DHL, Egyptair, FedEx, Japan Airlines, Kenya Airways, Korean Airlines, Kuwait Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, South African Airways, South African Express Airways, Swiss International Airlines, Turkish Airlines, UPS and Vietnam Airlines.

Photo credit: Flicker, Daughter #3

Year-to-date, however, IAG’s cargo traffic was down 2.7 percent to 1.75 billion tonnes, compared to 1.80 billion tonnes in 2014. This reflects a 4.6 percent drop for U.K.-based British Airways and a 6 percent increase for Iberia. IAG eliminated its freighter fleet in May 2014, thus the figures reflect cargo carried in bellies of passenger aircraft.

Volumes for the cargo divisions of British Airways and Iberia fell 4.2 percent in Q1, year-over-year, to 1.3 billion cargo tonne kilometers. Tonnage carried also dropped by 3.1 percent, y-o-y, to 218,000 tonnes. Capacity was reduced by 8 percent, resulting in a 2 point improvement in load factor and a 2.7 percent yield improvement.

CEO Steve Gunning said the carrier’s practiced “sensible capacity management” by using its substantial bellyhold network while still providing freighter services on key routes, such as Hong Kong-to-London. “The breadth of our network offering has enabled us to participate in the important Asia-U.S. flows and provided a significant boost to our business last quarter,” he said.