The Labour Court has split the difference between Fórsa and Aer Lingus on the issue of cabin crew ratios on the company’s transatlantic flights.

The current agreed crewing composition for the Airbus A330 aircraft is eight personnel, made up of a cabin services manager, three senior cabin crew and four cabin crew members (a ratio of 1:3:4).

Fórsa official Ashley Connolly explained, “We sought to retain the current crewing level, as the company sought to change the crewing ratio to 1:1:6, reducing the number of senior cabin crew.

“We argued that the current crewing ratio had remained unchanged even when the airline was at its most challenged. With the company expanding and profits at an all-time high, we argued there’s no financial need for this radical change,” she said.

The court recommended a crewing ratio of 1:2:5 for the A330 aircraft, with two senior cabin crew managers instead of the current three.

When the Labour Court made a recommendation on pay at the airline in 2017, it included the possibility of group-by-group productivity pay increases, with the savings from the productivity measures to be distributed 50/50 between the workers and the company.

The transatlantic crewing ratio is just one item currently under discussion between Fórsa and Aer Lingus. A number of other productivity issues remain under discussion and are expected to be put to a ballot when talks on all the outstanding issues are completed.