CityJet pilots say Amsterdam move will cut pay by up to 50%

CityJet pilots say the airline’s plans to open an Amsterdam base from the beginning of next month could cut their take-home pay by up to 50 per cent.

Pilots at the Irish carrier’s Dublin base, who are members of trade union Unite, have been refusing to work outside their rosters for a number of days in a dispute over pay.

Lower-paid pilots below the rank of captain say CityJet’s plans to open a base in Amsterdam will cut their take-home pay as they will receive fewer overnight allowances and sector payments.

According to figures given to The Irish Times, second officers earn basic salaries of €25,000 a year while first officers receive €35,000 a year. CityJet pays its captains €75,000.

On top of this, pilots earn sector allowances of €30 for each flight and €70 for each time they are away from their home base overnight.

Overnight allowances

CityJet co-pilots say they receive about 10 overnight allowances a month. Combined with the sector payments, this is worth €1,900 to €2,300 over and above their salaries.

This means that about half what second officers earn is variable pay, while about a third of what first officers receive is variable. Sources say they fear the Amsterdam move will cut overnights to a minimum before finally eliminating them.

Part of the logic behind opening the Amsterdam base is to cut costs by reducing the number of overnight allowances that the airline will have to pay its pilots.

Ryanair and EasyJet crews return to their home bases every day, which means that neither carrier faces a large bill for overnight allowances.

As CityJet does not guarantee that pilots will fly a minimum number of times in a month, sector payments could also be cut in some cases. All of the airline’s pilots spend part of a week on standby rather than flying and do not receive sector allowances for those days.

At the same time, those based in Amsterdam will pay 40 per cent on any allowances that they do earn, in contrast to the Republic where they say those payments are not taxed.

Sources say that more recently recruited pilots face particular hardship as it stands as many of them have had to borrow money to pay for parts of their training and are also coping with loan repayments. Any cut in their salaries could affect this, pilots say.

CityJet said the industrial action had not affected any of its services. It did not comment on its pilots’ pay.