Aer Lingus pilots must continue to perform “strict duty to rule” indefinitely in their quest for a pay claim.
Members of the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (Ialpa) also went on strike from 5am to 1pm on Saturday 29 June to prevent many families from starting their school holiday escape.
Millions of passengers have booked flights with the Irish airline for the summer – including from Great Britain via Dublin to North America.
Aer Lingus told the union that “industrial action at this time of year would cause significant disruption and have a devastating impact on customers and their families during the upcoming summer holiday period.”
The airline has decided to suspend at least 26 flights a day during the industrial action to minimise the risk of flight cancellations on the day of the strike. On the day of the strike, many more will be cancelled.
Aer Lingus UK’s direct cross-Atlantic services from Manchester and Aer Lingus’ regional operations – provided by a separate airline, Emerald Airlines – are not affected.
These are the most important questions and answers.
What is the dispute about?
In a vote on a 24 percent wage increase, pilots voted 99 percent in favor of industrial action, with a turnout of 89 percent.
Captain Mark Tighe, president of Ialpa, says the wage demand only corresponds to inflation since the last wage increase in 2019.
“Aer Lingus increased its profits by 400 percent to 255 million euros (216 million pounds) last year,” he says. “Our wage demands are entirely affordable and Aer Lingus management must change its position quickly if it wants to avoid an escalation of this dispute.”
“We find ourselves in this situation because management has failed to make us a meaningful salary offer that takes into account inflation and the sacrifices pilots have made to save Aer Lingus during the pandemic.”
He accuses Aer Lingus management of requiring pilots to “sell their working conditions in exchange for any pay rise”.
Captain Tighe says: “We are absolutely not prepared to do that, especially given that Aer Lingus is making huge profits.”
The airline said it had hoped to “continue to have meaningful direct discussions on productivity and flexibility proposals to enable wage increases,” but Ialpa declined.
“Aer Lingus’ profitability is the lowest in the IAG group, with operating margins well below pre-Covid levels, making further investment by IAG in the business difficult,” the airline said in a statement.
“Investing such profits in exorbitant salary increases for pilots who are already very well paid is extremely simplistic.
“IALPA demanded an unsustainable pay increase for pilots, which was not supported by either productivity or flexibility increases. Our pilots are highly valued colleagues and are rightly well paid for their work.
“Aer Lingus pilots are paid more than fairly compared to the market.”
The airline also states that the union’s failure to engage responsibly in the various independent processes jeopardises our growth plans, including our plans to serve more destinations.
What does “strict service according to regulations” mean?
Pilots reject any flexibility in their work. According to Ialpa, members insist in particular on:
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“No overtime or other tasks outside working hours required by management
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“Only edit the published rosters and do not accept or edit changes to published rosters
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“Not logging onto the Aer Lingus portal or ‘E-Crew’ (an online rostering system) outside working hours.
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“No phone calls will be answered outside of working hours.”
In a perfect world, Aer Lingus would continue to operate as normal. However, aviation is a very dynamic industry and even with the best-laid plans, many things can go wrong – for example:
Normally, every airline has a certain level of flexibility and accommodatingness among its staff to adjust operations to get passengers to their destinations. If this flexibility is no longer provided by the pilots, disruptions can quickly arise.
What problems could arise?
Air traffic control delays are common across Europe during the summer. Pressure is further increased by the closure of much of the airspace in Eastern Europe. It is not uncommon to have to wait on the ground for an hour or more. In such circumstances, airlines usually rotate their fleets and crews to minimise disruption for everyone. However, Ialpa points out that this will not be possible.
Across the Atlantic – a crucial market for Aer Lingus from Dublin and Shannon – summer storms are common. An unexpected delay in Chicago, for example, could mean pilots working beyond normal base duty hours.
The captain has the discretion to extend the flight duty time by two hours “in the event of unforeseen circumstances”. This can often mean the difference between a flight being terminated or passengers being stranded. The Irish Pilots’ Union suggests that this flexibility will not be granted.
A scenario where bad weather or a mechanical problem causes a long delay on the ground in the US could mean passengers being stranded overnight and the aircraft being stuck at an American airport rather than back in Dublin ready for its next deployment.
What impact has the service as per regulations had so far?
In response to the go-slow, Aer Lingus cancelled an average of 26 flights per day in the first two weeks of the action (many more on the day of the strike).
Most of these connections are from Dublin and Cork to the UK and continental Europe. A daily return flight from Dublin to New York JFK has also been suspended.
The airline says: “Customers whose flights are affected will be informed of their options directly via email/SMS or through their travel agent. While we will endeavour to offer customers new accommodation where possible, the extent of disruption may not allow this.”
What rights do I have if my flight is delayed?
You could decide not to go on the trip and ask for a full refund (there are also vouchers offered for future trips, but you should always insist on cash).
The airline says you can change your flight online and you will be refunded the difference in price if the new flight is cheaper – which, to be honest, is extremely unlikely.
However, the vast majority of passengers want to fly as close to their original plan as possible.
As an EU airline, Aer Lingus is subject to European passenger rights, which stipulate a duty of care in the event of delays and cancellations.
Whatever the cause of the disruption, the airline needs to get passengers to their destination as quickly as possible. On the London-Heathrow-Dublin route, this could mean Aer Lingus buying you a British Airways ticket.
For European destinations, you can choose from Ryanair and continental airlines such as Air France and Lufthansa.
In the event of a transatlantic cancellation, Aer Lingus may need to purchase seats on Air Canada, American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue, United or WestJet. However, because so many flights are very full, it may take some time to find available seats.
Your first step should be to call the airline in the UK on 0333 004 5000 or in Ireland on 01 761 7834.
If you want an alternative flight and an Aer Lingus flight is available on the same day, you have little choice but to take it – or accept a cash refund.
However, if Aer Lingus runs out of seats on the same day, you can insist on travelling with an airline that has seats available.
Ask Aer Lingus to purchase the ticket for you as required. If the airline refuses, you can book it and claim the additional costs back from Aer Lingus. This can be a lengthy process, but the airline cannot refuse a legitimate claim.
How badly are British passengers affected?
During the school summer holidays in Northern Ireland, many families travel south to Dublin to fly to Mediterranean destinations. They are entitled to alternative flights, subject to seats being available.
Aer Lingus’ Manchester-North America operation is unaffected, as are Aer Lingus regional flights from various UK airports to Dublin. But these regional flights often carry passengers travelling to the US and Canada – taking advantage of US Customs and Border Protection’s excellent pre-clearance facilities, meaning you’ll arrive at an American airport as a domestic passenger.
Someone with a booking from, for example, Birmingham via Dublin to Boston might insist on being rebooked on Air France, KLM or another airline if seats are available.
Regional flights to and from George Best Belfast City are not affected.
