Aer Lingus pilots concede to redundancies and pay cuts

Monday, 1st February 2010

Pilots working for Air Lingus gave in at the last minute by voting to accept a 10 per cent salary reduction and 76 redundancies, thus keeping the airline still functioning for some more time.

After three long months of conferring, it appears as though CEO Christopher Muellar’s restructuring plans have paid off and will reduce a crucial 97 million Euros from the annual costs of the airline as well as cut 675 jobs, when implemented.

Last week, Aer Lingus pilots agreed to accept pay and job cuts while they still have to agree on the pension changes and outsourcing, underlined in the Muellar plan. After looking at the big picture and deciding they did not like what they saw, any future strike threats by the pilots seem unlikely.

The bad news is that Aer Lingus’s cash reserves are likely to have only 280 million Euros at the end of 2009, down from 757 million Euros two years ago. The Muellar package was the bare minimum to keep the airline flying.

Flagship carriers around the globe are feeling the pinch, with British Airways recording massive losses for 2010 and Japan Airlines, Asia’s largest airline, needing to be bailed out.

At this point, Aer Lingus is unable to rely on a bail-out and it is difficult to see this airline surviving in the long run.

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↑ February 2010 news index

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