AER LINGUS has begun booking seats on Ryanair flights for passengers affected by its dispute over rosters with cabin crew.
The former State airline is also to lease a sixth aircraft from Ryanair as it continues to plug gaps in its schedule created by the dispute, which has resulted to date in the removal of 215 Aer Lingus staff from its payroll.
Aer Lingus expects that about 14 scheduled flights could be cancelled today as the dispute, which is now in its second week, continues to escalate.
As well as the leasing of aircraft from its rival, Aer Lingus has been booking flights, at a discount, on Ryanair’s scheduled services for passengers travelling to cities where both airlines operate.
Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said yesterday the airline was also prepared to accommodate “walk-up” Aer Lingus passengers at airports who have had their flights cancelled at short notice.
“We’ll take as many of their passengers as we can fit on our flights,” he said.
Aer Lingus said the flights likely to be affected by disruption today would be on some UK and European routes.
The airline has said that it is seeking to confine any disruption to routes where it operates a number of services daily. It has said that most intending passengers would be able to reach their destination on the same day.
Mr O’Leary called on Aer Lingus to sack members of its cabin crew staff who are refusing to operate controversial new rosters that it introduced unilaterally last week.
He said Ryanair would continue to support Aer Lingus in its dispute with cabin crew and their trade union Impact.
He also disputed claims from the union that Aer Lingus was spending €40,000 per round trip to lease aircraft from Ryanair to fly routes to the UK.
“I wish,” Mr O’Leary said. “[We’re going] out and back to the UK and Europe for less than €10,000, although obviously it varies, depending on the length of the flight.”
Mr O’Leary said Ryanair, which owns just under 30 per cent of Aer Lingus, could make more aircraft available to its Irish rival.
“We could provide more once we get into the middle of next week. If they need more aircraft, we will provide them with more aircraft.”
Mr O’Leary said Aer Lingus should withdraw travel privileges from its cabin crew and sack those who refused to work the new roster arrangements, which Aer Lingus maintains are required to facilitate an increase in cabin crew flying hours to 850 per year.
The union has argued that the rosters are excessively onerous and not family-friendly.
“It’s the only way you’re going to face [down] these trade union disruptions,” he said.
“If they don’t want to comply with an agreement that 93 per cent per cent of them voted in favour of, then they should leave.”
Ryanair has also ceased, for now, running newspaper advertisements mocking Aer Lingus’s 75 years of high fares, flight cancellations and strikes.
“We haven’t run any since [last] Sunday. Defeating Impact’s determination to disrupt Aer Lingus is a more important issue to us at the moment.”
Meanwhile, Impact last night said it stood over its estimated cost of the Aer Lingus contingency arrangements.
“If Aer Lingus or its suppliers came clean about what’s actually being spent, we wouldn’t have to work off estimates. But €40,000 per round trip is a conservative estimate of the cost of hiring aircraft and crew at short notice and we stand over it.”