Ryanair to operate Aer Lingus routes to reduce cancellations

Ryanair will operate some routes for Aer Lingus next week to help its rival fight a pilots’ strike that has forced the cancellation of nearly 550 flights.

The news came as Aer Lingus cancelled 80 additional services from Thursday 11 July to the following Sunday as it and the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (Ialpa), part of the Fórsa union, awaited proposals from the employment tribunal to resolve a pay dispute.

An internal memo said the airline secured “additional rental cover from Ryanair” from Thursday to Sunday and acknowledged that this helped reduce the number of cancellations over those days to 80.

The company’s note does not specify how many flights are affected, but it is understood that Ryanair is providing two planes and a crew to its competitor, which will operate 12 flights.

( Aer Lingus to cancel 80 more flights due to ongoing dispute )

Aer Lingus’ decision to cut 80 more flights next week brings to 548 the number of services cancelled to combat pilot strikes, including an ongoing work-to-rule and an eight-hour strike last Saturday.

Around 82,000 passengers have had their travel plans disrupted as a result. The airline began contacting those affected by the latest wave of cancellations on Friday.

Aer Lingus has also leased aircraft and crew from Spanish carrier Privilege Style Airlines to fly the Dublin-Chicago route and from Danish Air Transport to cover European routes popular with Irish sunseekers, including Malaga and the Greek islands.

The latest developments come as the parties await proposals from the employment tribunal for a settlement between the airline and its pilots, who are seeking pay increases of more than 20% to compensate for inflation.

Representatives from both organizations appeared before the court for more than three hours on Wednesday and later said it would issue a recommendation in the coming days.

Both parties will have to accept the proposals made by the Labour Court to resolve the dispute, as the recommendations of this body are not binding.

( Aer Lingus CEO awarded nearly €300,000 in shares as pilots and carrier prepare for fresh talks )

Ialpa President Captain Mark Tighe has already confirmed that union members will vote on any recommendation.

Further strikes are likely if this latest attempt to break the deadlock fails.

The Employment Tribunal used its powers under the Industrial Relations Act to intervene in the dispute this week after various efforts to find a resolution failed.

Last week, pilots began refusing overtime, schedule changes and requests to work outside normal hours, while they stopped work for eight hours last Saturday, during which 500 union members demonstrated at Dublin Airport.

( Ryanair rejects price gouging claims as Aer Lingus customers scramble for flights )

Ialpa is demanding wage increases of more than 20% to compensate for inflation. The union says it has moderated its position in negotiations and claims it will only take €5m a year to close the gap with Aer Lingus.

The airline says it cannot accept increases above the 12.25% granted to cabin and ground crew without obtaining an agreement from pilots requiring them to do more work than they currently do.

Aer Lingus maintains the impact on individual pilots will be “minimal” but will allow it to operate more efficiently.

The airline’s agreements with cabin and ground crew allow those groups to file new claims if it grants increases above 12.25% to other Aer Lingus workers that are not linked to increased productivity.