Aer Lingus will meet pilots on Wednesday seeking a quick end to a pay row to ensure the delivery of new aircraft to the carrier.
The Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (Ialpa) and Aer Lingus are due before the Labour Court on April 22nd to resolve a dispute over union members’ demand for pay increases of more than 20 per cent.
However, the sides agreed to meet next Wednesday after Aer Lingus chief operations officer Adrian Dunne wrote to Ialpa seeking a meeting before the Labour Court date, saying it is “incumbent” on both to find a solution as soon as possible.
If there is no resolution by April 28th, then the Irish carrier’s owner, International Airlines Group (IAG) will allocate a new Airbus aircraft due to begin flying for Aer Lingus in September to one of its other subsidiaries, his letter warns.
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Mr Dunne stresses that Aer Lingus is “fully committed” to the Labour Court process, but explains that the hearing’s date means it is unlikely the pair will have resolved the dispute in time to secure the aircraft.
“Therefore, I am writing to you today to invite you to meet to explore if any agreement can be reached and ratified ahead of this deadline,” he says.
Ialpa told members on Friday that it had accepted the airline’s offer to meet on Wednesday “without prejudice” to the Labour Court hearing.
Its letter states that the company says IAG will not place new Airbus A321XLR jets with Aer Lingus should pilots not accept an 8.5 per cent offer they voted against in January.
The union argues that securing new aircraft and expansion are management functions.
“While Ialpa is supportive of growth, this growth must be achieved with pilots’ salaries also keeping pace with inflation and pilot salaries in the European market,” it states.
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Deadlock between the sides prompted IAG to stall delivery of two Airbus A321XLRs, new models capable of flying long distances, to Aer Lingus.
It deferred painting of the jet due to enter service in September from March to early May, which Mr Dunne points out is the latest possible date that the process allows.
Aer Lingus requested an earlier date than April 22nd from the Labour Court but had not received a reply by Tuesday and did not expect the industrial relations forum to grant this, Mr Dunne states.
Failure to secure either aircraft will not affect this year’s schedules but could hit future growth, particularly on North American services. Aer Lingus chief executive, Lynne Embleton, said last month that the Labour Court’s timing was crucial.
Luis Gallego, chief executive of IAG, which also owns British Airways and Spanish carriers, Iberia and Vueling, stated that the jets would not go to Aer Lingus until the dispute ended. He dubbed the gap between pilots and management “extreme”.
Aer Lingus calculates that pilots’ pay demands would add 27 per cent to its wage bill but Ialpa says the figure is closer to 24 per cent.
Pilots argue that they have not had a pay increase since 2019, which management disputes, while the cost of living has risen 19 per cent in the interim.
They also maintain that the airline failed to take into account their contribution to keeping it in business during Covid travel bans.
Management points out that it kept all pilots employed during that time, but did lay off some cabin crew.
Other Aer Lingus staff accepted 12.25 per cent offered by an internal pay tribunal. That increase was discounted by 3.75 per cent for pilots to take into account extra summer leave flexibility agreed with the airline in 2019.
