Ryanair pilots are planning to establish the first ever pan-European trade union.
The Ryanair European Pilots Association will span all 11 bases owned by the airline and will be used as a negotiating tool to fight for better pay and work conditions.
More than half of Ryanair pilots are already members of the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) and the Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA), but sources said they hope the new alliance will act as a Europe-wide umbrella group, giving staff a strong platform to discuss terms and conditions.
The association will launch a website for members and offer free membership for the initial six months. Pilots will be allowed to retain membership of the other pilot unions, it was confirmed.
"This is an attempt to have a body which will represent people in a variety of trade unions and bring them together as a single organisation," a union source said.
"Ryanair is hateful of any staff being associated in any shape or form with any union and this new alliance will deliver the message that pilots are getting mobilised and will act together."
Ryanair chief Mr Michael O'Leary dismissed the idea as a "PR stunt" and claimed the move was nothing more than a desperate bid by the unions to get publicity and recognition.
"I recognise the right of staff to join trade unions," he said. "But what we have always said is that as long as the company is doing well we will pay them more and give them access to share options.
Ryanair is not anti-union it is simply pro-employee." He claimed Ryanair paid its pilots more than any other European airline, with the average salary €50,582. But a BALPA spokesman said this was "utterly untrue", claiming the same variables were not being compared. "What it comes down to is how much individual pilots take home in their pockets for every hour they work," he said.