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LAST UPDATE | 29 Jun 2024
HUNDREDS OF AER Lingus pilots marched around Dublin Airport during an eight-hour strike this morning as part of the ongoing dispute over pay which has seen hundreds of flights cancelled during the busiest travel season.
The pilots, all in full uniform, set off at 6am from Aer Lingus’s head office on the airport site and walked past the two terminal buildings twice holding placards and banners.
The demonstration, which took place in pouring rain, caused major traffic disruption around the airport.
After the march was concluded, pilots set up a picket line at the main roundabout on the entrance to the airport.
.@IALPA members taking part in strike action today. pic.twitter.com/lLqluvGZJb
— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) June 29, 2024
Today’s all-out strike is part of a broader strike, with pilots starting indefinite work-to-rule industrial action this week.
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, pilots in Boston, Orlando and Seattle formed pickets in support of Aer Lingus pilots. Those who participated are members of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA).
Members of the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (IALPA) are seeking a pay increase of 23.8% over three years, which it says is “clearly reasonable and affordable for a profitable company such as Aer Lingus”.
The union noted that in 2023, Aer Lingus had a full year operating profit of €225 million.
This was a 400% increase on 2022, when a full year operating profit of €45 million was recorded.
However, Aer Lingus has said it is willing to offer pay increases of 12.5% or above if “improvements in productivity and flexibility” are discussed.
Both sides are at an impasse. IALPA reps said yesterday that chances of an additional strike and further industrial action are high after talks in the 22-month dispute over pay broke down on Thursday.
A spokesperson told The Journal on Thursday: “The IALPA executive is considering a further work stoppage due to the companies clear escalation today by informing IALPA that it will unilaterally terminate the standing collective agreements, should IALPA not agree to amend them.”
However, the union has rolled back on any planned escalation and both sides have agreed to attend the Labour Court on Monday.
Aer Lingus cancelled an additional 122 flights next week due to the action, bringing the number of cancelled flights to 392.
With reporting from Diarmuid Pepper, Jane Matthews and Press Association
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Heard an interview with one of the pilots saying people were blowing their horns passing them outside the airport and the great support they were getting. He forgot to say that the horns also came with two fingers at the pilots….
@Thomas Meaney: heard it on the radio myself, sounded so chuffed with himself that they were on strike, obnoxious bellend
@Thomas Meaney: An obnoxious sounding individual, a left over superiority attitude from the Aer Lingus of the 60s. These people will have to get a new way of thinking nowadays when air travel isn’t the preserve of the few any more. Hopefully their bosses in Spain will sort them out and make them do more for less money.
@Thomas Meaney: Meaney by name, Meaney by nature.
@Jim Connolly: how dare they want to be paid a fair wage ,do you think the big boss in Spain sees your boot licker comments Jim ?
Aer Lingus, just pay your pilots!
@Ciaran: if this pay rise is given, the passengers will be the ones paying for it!
@Ian McDonald:
1000s upon 1000s of passengers. A couple of euro at most.
@Ian McDonald: No way, is that how it works, customers fund their pay?!?!….. €45m is what they said it would cost. Thats around 4.50 per passenger per flight based on 2023s passenger numbers, and that would be to maintain a €255 million profit. But, they were forecasting growth this year and the next few years so it should be less. They could also absorb the cost as they’re making so much profit….. But they’d prefer to play hardball at the expense of their customers to maintain the profit and cut pilot terms for any increase above 13%….. FYI, it’s not 2019 anymore, there’s been 20%+ inflation so you can’t expect flights to be as cheap as before……. Fair play to the pilots fighting to keep up with inflation. Greedy management whose increases and bonuses were also paid by your fares
@Ciaran: it must 100 to 1 ratio male to female pilots.
@Ian McDonald: aer lingus is already making record profits, this is their labour’s fruit and rightfully so.
@Ciaran: There comes a time when enough is enough , personally I feel they are overpaid for what they do . No way Aer Lingus should pay them what they want . Greed at play here
@Alan d: So you favour the few billionaires over the people. Do you think they’ll be grateful to you or something?
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: them made 225 million profit last year ,the pay rise for the pilots would cost them 30 million .
Pay you staff ,or don’t do business,
Cannot understand all the big boss boot lickers on here
@Alan d: next time you fly remember and tell the pilots exactly what who thinks of them before you take off
Beyond time to reign in these commie unions
@John D Doe: have some compassion. Poor lads on only €250,000 a year must be finding it hard to buy bread and milk.
@Pat Hazzard: they wouldn’t be on strike if they got 250k a year. A fact or two wouldn’t go amiss.
@John D Doe: Are you enjoying your weekend? You have commie unions to thank for that.
Annual leave?
Bank holidays?
Sick pay?
Maternity / parental leave?
40 hour working week? All communist.
It’s disgusting all the rights that workers have thanks to unions indeed. Everyone should be sent down the mines at 12 years old for 2 and sixpence a fortnight.
@Mary Conneely: a pilot’s starting package is 65k and it rises rapidly from there. If you have tears to shed, save them for teachers and healthcare workers
@Ian McDonald: Aer Lingus starts at 80.
@Ian McDonald: A co-pilots starting package is less than 40k.
@John D Doe: the wind ups are getting too obvious mate.
@Ian McDonald: Shed a tear for teachers. Now that’s the funniest comment this weekend
@John D Doe: You want to put “commie unions” on a throne?
@Ian McDonald: the teachers and healthcare workers are welcome to go and get pilots licences. Same for anyone else whinging about pilots wages.
@Ian McDonald: starting salary is in the low €30,000’s and their training usually costs up to €100,000 so they spend a large part of their first few years paying it back.
@Kevin Collins: Well said .. these clowns haven’t a clue of what a century of unions, activism and disruption have delivered them.. ignorant beyond belief.
@Mary Conneely: Here’s some facts
Published figures:
Just over one quarter are on an overall package – basic pay, variable pay, pension contributions etc. of €287,000.
The next 12% are on an overall package of €215,000
The next 19.5% are on an overall package of €170,000
The remaining 57% are on an overall package of “in and around” €200,000
This includes an employer pension contribution of 21%
Still not bad money for flying increasingly automated aircraft.
They are a disgrace and will loose out in the long term when IAG replace them with other brands in the group
The cabin crew have to deal with most of the disruptive passengers, so presumably they should get paid the same.
@Kevin Collins: eu regulations secured most of that..
@Thomas Sheridan: Yep, that’s a good awl management IR tactic to publish their pension contributions on-top of their salary to make the number look bigger for the public. Now do one for what they get net into their pocket after tax and contributions! 200k gross is about 98.5k in the pocket….. How will IAG replace them at Dublin airport? With Iberia and BA pilots who earn more?!?!….. Put a cabin crew in a cockpit and see how they deal with a birdstrike in the engine or landing in a storm if you think they should be paid the same…… Hopefully they get around 20% and the rest of the EI staff put in claims for the same!
@Pat Barry: incorrect……. Heard its 55k for starters on the cadet program due to paying back training costs…….. For direct entry it’s a basic salary of €63,500 as per their own website if non type rated, €77,000 if type rated. That’s not unreasonable for flying a plane. Should they start on something like 30k in your eyes?!?!
https://www.aerlingus.com/careers/careers-in-the-air/direct-entry-pilots/
@John Harron: Thanks for those words of wisdom Captain Harron
@Pat Hazzard: pats back talking out his Ar$e again
@John D Doe: the most backward comment I have seen in a long time , away you go and tug your fore lock to the bosses ,you wouldn’t have ANY employment rights if it wasn’t for unions,
Foolish comment
@Ian McDonald: teachers ??
Are you kidding.
Worked to the bone from 8.30 to 3.30 five days a week ,
And the holidays?
And you can sod off for a year or two and still come back to your job .
Oh my god how do they manage ????
@Thomas Sheridan: tom your numbers are completely incorrect
@John D Doe: Pete Donohoe or whatever you’re calling yourself this week. Don’t be so down about your tiny willy; I’m sure there are treatments available these days, to at least make you feel more like a man. Now your psychopathy, that’s another matter.
More power to them. I hope they reach an acceptable outcome.
Shame on them. Such greed and making paying customers suffer.
@Sean Money: I take it Sean you have never asked your boss for a pay rise because you wouldn’t want to be greedy
@Sean Money: it’s greedy looking for your pay not to be devalued by inflation?!?! That’s a strange opinion….. Guess the majority of workers in the country are greedy then, and there’s something wrong with the rest…… Greed by profit hungry EI management who want to devalued staff remuneration and cut conditions for anything above 13%
@Ger Whelan: they were offered a pay rise and now they want a bigger one.
@Ian McDonald: they weren’t even offered half of what they asked for and what they were offered came with conditions. But of course you won’t mention that would you.
@Stephen Brennan: Got it in one Stephen!
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: not when they’re on the extortionate money they’re on! Sitting there watching automation. And don’t say they’re the best of the best pilots, cronyism is rampant there. Captains daughters are the flavour of the day
When it comes to job success there.
@Ger Whelan: Wrong, they were offered off with no strings and it was shot down.
@Pat Barry: half not off.
@Éanna o Sca: Who do you fly for?….. Who said they’re the best of the best?
@Sean Money: Would agree. These massive companies owned by a handful of millionaires need to spread the wealth a little bit, record profits for the owners, then a little something for the staff, seem right.
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: with due respect, none of your business
@Éanna o Sca: are you mad?
These guys are responsible for anywhere between 100-300 per flight.
Give them their pay.
I want them relaxed and rested, their home lives and living conditions comfortable and their moods happy, while they are flying us in those planes.
Aer Lingus can well afford it and if it costs me an extra tenner per flight so be it.
@W210 – W212: Nah , tell them to stay at home. We will fly Ryan air instead. Thanks anyway !
Hope they got soaked
@reg morrisey: A fan of the uber rich eh?
@reg morrisey: that’s right get that good old begrudging in there , backward you are just backward
Why did Aer Lingus tell them they could not wear their uniforms? Sounds like bully boy tactics to me .
@Patrick MC Dermott: maybe because when they wear the uniform they are representing the company but today they were representing themselves??
The top pilots in AL pay €2500 PER WEEK in tax. The irony of their huge contributions to the exchequer going towards the social welfare payments of some of the clowns commenting here. Get off your arse, get a pilots licence, get an aviation medical cert, pass the assesment to become a Captain, serve 26 years while passing multiple yearly proficiency tests and you too can earn the same. How much should a person earn for taking the responsibility of a €200,000,000 aircraft 38000 feet in the air travelling at 600 mph with 300 hundred men, women and children on board? If something goes wrong they can’t just pull over and stop. They are worth far more than they are asking. Finally a group is standing up and saying enough is enough. Pay them.
@John Harron: Aye aye Captain John.
@John Harron: Serve 26 years with Aer Lingus and earn €350K PA if this agreement goes through and 21% pension and 7 weeks holidays, sorry mate too much and won’t happen.
@John Harron: that’s not a reason. That’s social racism and supporting elitism. You are making a fool if yourself.
@Pat Barry: I think you’ve outed yourself as management…
@KB: That’s funny, I’ve been promoted to Aer Lingus management and a troll tonight.
@Pat Barry: I’d say the two are akin
@John Harron: Yup. the dopey right continues it’s blind march for the elites that use them. It’s impressively ironic
@Dominic Leleu: supporting elitism,it’s not china ,you should be payed your worth ,you going to tell a heart surgeon he should be paid the same as a teacher
They a greedy bunch on great salaries and good perks
@Pauline Cahill: and? You’re saying anyone on a decent salary doesn’t deserve a pay rise? They, in fact, deserve massive pay cuts over time when inflation is factored in. What about the aer lingus bosses who’ve given themselves significant pay rises whilst not doing anything for their pilots… Any comment about them?
@Pauline Cahill: You’re a pilot then?
@M To The B: are you for real,No1 they get a decent wage,no2 inflation has happened everywhere and no3 don’t hide behind a stupid name
@Pauline Cahill:
Oh, good woman, you’re talking about Senior Management who gave themselves a 66% pay rise in the same 5 year period. The pilots took a 10% reduction during covid, which was supposed to be given back (but wasn’t). So if you work it out, it realistically is a 14% inflation related increase over 5 years. Aer Lingus conviently omitted that part.
@Pauline Cahill: daft comment when the shareholders are recording record profits. Only and elitist fool gets caught on the wrong side of these things Pauline.
@Gerard McMonagle: if they are not paid properly they won’t fly ,company will lose out.
Other companies are paying,pilots will move to them .
Fact is they have a solid claim and AL is making a complete balls of it as well and losing brand share
Sack them all
@Johnno Reilly: Well, now ya see this Johnno….and try to understand it if you have good comprehension skills….
There is a global shortage of pilots. Somewhere in the region of 34000!!!! So already, market value of a fully trained, highly experienced pilot is well, rather high!!!!! Throw into the works the immense reputation which Aer Lingus pilots hold on the marketplace….it really is something Ireland should be proud of. Aer Lingus pilots are considered some of the best.
So, if we do as you suggest, and sack them all! Well that would be the end of Aer Lingus, and perhaps Irish aviation as any potential replacement with half a brain cell (and pilots certainly require more than half a brain cell) would avoid working in Ireland like the plague!
Does that make sense to ya?
@T S: You’re on the losing side T S.
@Pat Barry: I’m on the side of economic science my insular minded friend
@T S: Voodoo economics more like.
@Pat Barry: Unrealistic and ill-advised.
another rte..where’s the ceo in all this being paid a million a year .not a word ..
@William O leary: Obviously the difference is Aer Lingus is a private company and RTÉ isn’t.
@Pat Barry: Again, and again and again, RTE is 50% private.
Journal…close the comments on this! The nut jobs are on their way!
@Deirdre Moffat: Pride
@Deirdre Moffat: They never left!
They only marched around the airport because it wouldn’t have been safe anywhere else.
No comments allowed on most important news today.. Smokey bacon flavoured golf balls.
€100K to become a pilot, woopdidoo, to do a Masters in anything costs half that and you’re not guaranteed anything near a pilot’s salary.
@Pat Barry: yeah, the actual job that they do dictates the salary. You know, being responsible for the lives of the passenger day in day out. 10s of thousands a year. Being responsible for a €100+ million aircraft….. You’re only guaranteed a job if you do a cadetship actually. Some learn to fly on their own backs but don’t make it commercial…… Every single one of your posts smacks of begrudgery. You should try to become a pilot instead of trolling and trying to belittle the job, there’s a global shortage of them! I hear it’s well paid, although the government takes half!
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: I’m glad I’m upsetting y’all.
All the talk of inflation from 2019 to 2024, we all know why that is, a temporary situation, consider the consumer price index inflation calculator for the previous five years from 2014 to 2019, do you know what it was, well I’ll tell you what it was, it was 0.7%, pilots will you go back to work please and stop acting the maggot.
Every person should be given a payrise that works in Ireland it should be law cost of living out of control how are people to live and work this country is a washout with money
@Alan Moloney: Everyone should. I’d say management levels are getting the big increases while keeping the “workers” down and profits up. Inflation and tax sucking the life out of the average Joe as the years go on
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: Income tax in Ireland is anything between 16th and 20th spot in the EU depending on what source you look at, either way it’s a lower tax economy.
@Pat Barry: Are you sure about that Pat?!?! It not only depends on the tax rate in these comparison tables but at what amount you enter the higher rate, your credits… Etc. Denmark for example is much higher on these lists than us but when you look and actually do the calculations you pay 1k more tax here than in Denmark on a salary of 100k, and they have much better services. France, higher on the list but again you pay 1k more here….. 40% top rate entry in England is £50.2k. €42k here. That’s over €17k higher….. Get the picture?…… Either way our tax bands are out of date, and the services we get for them are shocking. Govt taking in massive income tax and vat after the COL crisis and the bands need to be raised as well with all the inflation. Milking us dry
Hear, hear. Solidarity with everyone who’s still waiting to have pay cuts restored. More power to them.
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: Moving tax bands for inflation is always a good idea and the thresholds have been moved and probably will get moved again in the next budget. You have to look at social transfers to get the full picture. At the end of 2023 the 6th decile of Irish households had a mean total market income of 1,219 Euro per week and a net disposable income of 1,137 Euro. In the 7th decile total market income is 1,681 and net income is 1,307. In the 8th decile total market income is 1,990 and net income is 1,515. Households only really hit a 20% drop in gross income when they are in the top 20% of income earners. In the fifth decile TMI is 942 Euro and net is 971. From the fifth decile down households now receive more social transfer than they make in contributions and without the social transfers, most of them go bust. When you get under the median figures, that’s where you really start to see the problem. In the fourth decile TMI is 653 Euro and net income is 805 Euro ( even though their total deductions are 160 Euro). Transfers are getting bigger when wages should be rising. It’s unsustainable. I don’t know enough to comment on the wages pilots receive but wages have to go up and the projected real wage growth for this year will still leave most workers worse off than 2019.
Back in the bad ‘oul days in the 80s it cost £300 just to get to London and it’s twice that now with Aer Lingus, wake up people anybody supporting the pilots!
@Pat Barry: £300 in 1985 is nearly a €1k in today’s money. €158 euro return to LHR for the saver fare for the first week in Sept…… Why bother lying?!?!
Not only screwing their own customers but also disturbing business of other airlines and collateral. All that without consequence for them obviously.
If they were baggage staff, it would be a scandal, but posh boys with high salary and uniform would got away with that.
@Dominic Leleu: unbelievable comment,are you not ashamed off yourself for that
Shocking isn’t it…pouring rain near midsummer!
At the top of their scale these guys currently earn more than the Taioseach. They’ve lost all sense of themselves in delusional self importance
@Maurice Byrne: Leo was on just under €209K before he left, the senior Aer Lingus pilots will be on €350K plus fringe benefits if this deal goes through, which it won’t.
@Maurice Byrne: did you know that the Taoiseach salary isn’t the benchmark for all other salaries, especially not in a private company. Most aren’t top of the scale. You me or anyone else would also fight so their salary isn’t devalued by inflation if we could. Public sector has around 20% since 2019 and 3 more small hikes to go until the end of 2025…… These lads are worth their salary, the professional spoofers and PR spinners in govt aren’t. There are plenty of other airlines that pay more, it’s a well paid job. Not that hard to get your head around.
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: What’s your source for this 20% public service increase and in what departments?
@Pat Barry: The internet. Govt sites. All staff. Stability/Building momentum agreements and the recent COL one…. Do I need to wipe your ar$e too?!?!:
Jan 2019 by 1%
Sept 2019 by 1.75%
Jan 2020 up to €32k by 0.5%
Oct 2020 by 2%
Oct 2021 by 1%
Feb 2022 by 3%
Oct 2022 by 1%
Mar 2023 by 2%
Oct. 2023 by 1.5%
Jan 2024 by 2.25%
Jun 2024 by 1%
Oct 2024 by 1%
Mar 2025 by 2%
Oct 2025 by 1%
Feb 2026 by 1%
June 2026 by 1%
All annualised
@Pat Barry: Incorrect figures again. Also, compare like for like!!!!! Either base salaries for both or total remuneration for both instead of manipulating the data for those that don’t bother fact checking!!!!
@Maurice Byrne: Aer lingus CEO… “pay last year included a base salary of €963,000 and a €1.6m bonus split evenly between cash and a deferred share award”… Sit down Maurice.
@Maurice Byrne: Taioseach has never had a proper job ,that lad wouldn’t get past “do Yiu want frys with that” in the real world
“The last thing we want to do is to hurt the public”
First thing they do is hold an all strike on one of the busiest weekends in Dublins social calendar. Knew exactly what they were doing and have *no* problem inconveniencing anyone as long as they aren’t.
Moaning about inflation but oblivious to the extra costs there forced on the customers they claim to care about. IALPA care about no one but IALPA
@Niall Whyte: Is that the first thing they did?!?!….. What about the 22 months of negotiations? What about the work to rule, you know, not coming in on your days off to do overtime to help management cover up a poorly run operation (purposely understaffed to cut costs)? They only did the 8hr strike because management saw it fit to start sending out threatening letters to staff escalating things….. Pilots union appear happy to meet management, go to the LC, come down on percentage…. Management putting preconditions on any meetings, playing hardball on figures, wanting to cut terms…..etc. Your anger appears to be misplaced.
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: deflect deflect deflect deflect and whataboutery. Im not one bit angry as im totally unaffected by whats going on. Simple fact is they said they were doing a work to rule and then seemingly from nowhere a full workstoppage. As for pilots getting arsey about perks being stopped….if i was a company owner and my staff were working to rule you can bet I’d be stopping all perks beyond basic salary too.
@Niall Whyte: oh you missed the part where individual pilots were threatened by HR and the union members were sent threatening letters? I’d say the letters to the union were legal letters given the action in an attempt to bully…… It was touched on in my comment and widely reported. THAT directly led to the 8 hr strike action so it wasn’t out of nowhere or unwarranted. And not related to the perks, I’m sure that was expected by them.
@Niall Whyte: Try stick to the facts and timelines of events. You’re omitting events to suit the narrative of your comments.
Non Management “workers” with power. IBEC must want to vomit. Legislation FG….how has this happened!
A nurse’s average salary in 2019 was €36K, it’s now €40K which equates to an 11% increase.
@Pat Barry: Pat this article is not about nurses. It’s about pilots pay.
@Pat Barry: Jeepers Pat (and the 8 lantern jaws that liked this)…. ‘These cows are close up, and those ones are far away’!
Few people support this money grab.I hope these greedy swines got soaked today. A legacy airline with legacy terms and conditions but still not enough for these spoilt,pampered brats.
@Gerry Lamont: Save your breath because I think you’re swimming home after that.
Pull the rug from under them all. Give them what they want for now then wind the airline down temporarily in the low season then fire the lot of them and let them re apply for their jobs as contractors like most of the Ryanair pilots. End of strike action and smug attitude.
@Paul O+Brien: OK so force all pilots into awful contracts leading to more stress and less job satisfaction, you want tired pissed off pilots at the controls??? Terrible idea.
@Paul O+Brien: Why would stakeholders do that, they’re recording record profits? Are you 12?
@Paul O+Brien: that would thankfully be illegal
They should be ashamed of themselves. 25% increase and ruining ordinary peoples lives
@Mary Crehan: Ruining lives?!?!….. How is that? Bit dramatic Mary.
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: have you seen the articles of the people who’ve been affected? Massively increased costs for rebooking flights, having to stay longer in hotels than intended, cancelled trips to eagerly awaited events etc etc. But hey, it’s not about IAPLA hurting the public is it.
@Mary Crehan: first world problems for you mary
@Mary Crehan: first world problems for you mary??
@Niall Whyte: no that would be the responsibility of the company
Aer lingus is making huge profits and the pilots want a share of this, which isn’t unreasonable so too all staff should share in the profitability of A L.
Introduce a profitability sharing bonus scheme paid annually as% of salary.
For those attacking the pilots remember there have been 22 months of negotiations and A L management and the government knew this strike was coming and did nothing to prevent it.
@Niall Murphy: What’s the government got to do with it?
@Pat Barry: are you serious Pat?????
If I’ve to explain this to you…..
Well footed and booted
If they’re not happy, leave!!! No one is asking them to stay. Loads of pilots type rated and more than happy to work under existing condition’s.
@Éanna o Sca: In the AL ballot only 1% of pilots were happy with current pay.
@Éanna o Sca: rubbish
My gosh, the IQ of this place is on the floor.
have your say