THE board of Aer Lingus will meet tomorrow to consider a new five-year plan for the future of the airline, which could lead to an increase in the numbers employed.
As discussions on cost savings continue with unions representing the airlines 6,000 employees, a company spokesman would only say the board is meeting to consider a management review of the group's existing plans.
However, other sources said the board will be presented with a new five-year plan involving substantial growth in revenue and passenger numbers.
The "Strategy for Profitable Growth" will involve an increase in staff numbers in some operating areas such as cabin crews. Up to 1,000 new full-time equivalent jobs (including part-time and work-share jobs) would be created under the plan, if revenue growth is on target and costs are contained through a reduction in overtime and changes in working practices.
It is understood that the Aer Lingus Express project - aimed at developing a low-cost service for short-hop routes to compete with Ryanair - has been abandoned. Sources said that no redundancies were envisaged under the latest plan, adding that "everything that is done and how it is done" in three new operating divisions will be examined with a view to "cost containment".
The airline's operations are to be restructured into three separate divisions - Transatlantic, Europe and Aer Lingus Commuter. The divisions will operate as separate profit centres taking responsibility for their own costs and revenue. This rearrangement is aimed at allowing management to establish quickly whether each division is making profits or losses and facilitating prompt remedial action when necessary. It is aimed at making operations more responsive to changes in the marketplace.
Mr Garry Cullen currently airline director of operations will become chief operating officer and the divisions will report to him. The new management structures will come into effect in January.
The latest plan for Aer Lingus has been drawn up by the Joint business review group comprising management and staff representatives.
The management/union group was set up to examine issues which affect the future viability of the airline. Aer Lingus is seeking "significant" cost reductions and has committed to achieving these reductions through "a partnership approach" with the unions.
The cost saving targets have not been revealed. However, earlier this year when 1995 profits of £53 million were announced, chief executive Mr Gary McGann said the group needed to double its operating profits. "The group must improve its return on sales through further cost reductions and increasing revenue, he said.
The Aer Lingus spokesman said that a management review of the airline's five-year plan, now in its second year, will be considered by the directors tomorrow. The plan which is reviewed and updated every year will include a detailed budget for 1997, he said.
Asked if a redundancy package or other cost saving measures would be considered as part of the plan or the budget, the spokesman would only comment: "If the current partnership approach is effective and results in the airline remaining competitive the recent speculation about employment reduction will prove wide of the mark".
But he declined to comment on "the specifics" of how the group proposed to achieve the cost reductions required. There had been speculation that the group was considering up to 800 redundancies in order to cut operating costs.
The management restructuring at Aer Lingus follows the departure last month of Mr Conor McCarthy. He was chief operations officer of Aer Lingus Commuter with responsibility for the Aer Lingus Express low-cost flights project aimed at competing with Ryanair on short-hop flights.
