Aer Lingus pilots vote overwhelmingly in favour of strike action amid ongoing pay dispute

Members of the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (IALPA) voted 98pc in favour of taking industrial action up to and including full withdrawal of labour. Turnout for the ballot was 98pc.

No strike action is planned, so far, and talks with management are continuing but the overwhelming vote points to the huge gap between the two sides heading into the busy summer season.

IALPA president Captain Mark Tighe said the result of the ballot showed that Aer Lingus pilots are “determined to secure a fair and reasonable pay rise after years of inflation”.

Captain Tighe said: “The result of this ballot shows the resolve and determination of our members to get a fair share of the large profits that Aer Lingus are making. Last year, they reported €225 million profit – an increase of 400% on the previous year.

Aer Lingus said any move to strike action would be “entirely regrettable” and insisted talks are ongoing.

If a strike does happen the vast majority of the 40,000 passengers flying every day with Aer Lingus over the summer would see their flights grounded if a pilots’ union calls for strike action due to a pay dispute.

Aer Lingus and the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association remain locked in pay talks today.

The pilots have also been balloting for industrial action, with the outcome of the vote expected at 5pm. It’s anticipated that the vast majority of the almost 800 pilots at the airline will vote in favour of action.

That means that strike action could take place at a week’s notice, upending holiday and other plans for families and business travellers. Even a half-day of stoppages by pilots would mean the Aer Lingus schedule for the entire day being virtually scrapped. The action would also affect the prior day’s schedule and have knock-on effects over the next couple of days as passengers are reaccommodated.

With the busy summer season kicking off, Aer Lingus will be carrying about 40,000 passengers every day on its services. It’s likely about 95pc of passengers on any given strike day won’t get to travel. The impact would be felt by its passengers in Ireland, across Europe and in the United States and Canada.

Aer Lingus is understood to be lining up potential wet-lease aircraft for use during industrial action. Such jets are provided by a third party, with the crew provided.

But such capacity is difficult to come by during the peak summer season. It’s thought Aer Lingus will use any such wet-lease jets to maintain some services on key routes such as Dublin to London Heathrow and Dublin to New York’s JFK.

While Aer Lingus also has a base in Manchester, the pilots there are not part of the ballot by their colleagues in Ireland.

However, the Manchester-based pilots also cannot fly aircraft out of Ireland. Even if they could, Aer Lingus’ services to the Caribbean and North America from Manchester are all but fully booked for the summer, meaning aircraft there couldn’t be diverted to operate routes out of Ireland.

Talks between Aer Lingus and the Irish Airline Pilots’ Union (Ialpa) are continuing since this morning.

The union requested the meeting after discussions between the two sides ended on Tuesday without any progress.

“Aer Lingus met with Ialpa today for direct discussions with a view to reaching agreement on pilot pay,” said a spokesperson for the airline on Tuesday.

“No significant progress was made, with Ialpa demanding an unsustainable level of increase in pilot pay (in excess of 20pc) that was not supported by any increase in productivity or flexibility,” they added.

“Aer Lingus offer to request the support of the Workplace Relations Commission in order to further explore solutions,” the spokesperson said. “This offer was rejected by Ialpa, and they ended the discussions.”

Ialpa told its members on Tuesday that the talks concluded “when Aer Lingus indicated that no further discussion could take place without Ialpa agreeing to productivity changes to increase the pay offer”.

“Aer Lingus expressed a wish to return to a third-party mediator or the Workplace Relations Commission, which was rejected by Ialpa in favour of direct negotiations,” it said. “Ialpa views direct negotiations as the best way forward, considering 20 months of progress as concluded without agreement.”

Ialpa has been seeking a near 24pc pay rise for its members at Aer Lingus. The airline has offered a 12.25pc, which included 3.75pc to pay for a 2019 crewing agreement.

An independent pay tribunal last year recommended a 12.25pc increase in consolidated pay and a 1.5pc rise in unconsolidated pay for the pilots.

The Labour Court recommended an interim 9.25pc pay increase, with the cost of the crewing agreement to be settled by the end of the summer, it hoped. That proposal was accepted by Aer Lingus but overwhelmingly rejected by pilots.