Fórsa members in the union’s Aer Lingus Cabin Crew branch are now in receipt of payments reflecting a new deal struck on credits addressing underpayment for duty on flights to the US west coast. 

Described as a “considerable increase” in pay, the issue of credits for Aer Lingus’s popular US west coast flights has been an issue since 2016 and the branch had identified this year.

Fórsa official Lisa Connell hailed the breakthrough: “It’s been a challenging few years for all aviation workers, and negotiating the post-pandemic phase has been the main issue on the spotlight.

“Credits for these flight duties had remained unresolved for some time, so it’s good to bring this to a conclusion now, and even better to know that cabin crew members have begun to see those payments in their wages since mid-September and which includes backdating for our members,” she said.
Lisa explained that the claim itself was quite technical: “We have what we refer to as '15 Sector’ credits, now payable in respect of round trips to all West Coast destinations, and already applies to flight duties for Los Angeles and Seattle. 

“This will now include Denver and San Francisco, and will ultimately apply to Las Vegas and indeed any future US west coast routes,” she said.

 
Lisa said ‘excess hours’ credits, paid in respect of flights to Los Angeles and Seattle, are now also being applied to flight duty for San Francisco and Denver: “These additions are now payable and backdated to 17th May 2024, and the credit value will increase, seeing a notable increase in pay for cabin crew who operate flights to the West Coast of the US” she said.