Pilots in Aer Lingus who are members of the Irish Air Lines’ Pilots Association (IALPA), a branch of Fórsa, met with Aer Lingus management late last week, following the pilots’ rejection of a pay recommendation from the Pilot Pay Tribunal.

IALPA representatives told Aer Lingus management that it wished to negotiate an improved deal that would return pilots to pre-pandemic pay, terms and conditions, and offer a meaningful increase.

Captain Mark Tighe, President of IALPA, said any new pay deal needs to account for the loss of real earnings due to inflation, and consider pilot pay increases throughout the industry.

The ballot, which closed two weeks ago, saw 98.1% of IALPA members voting to reject the proposal of a pay increase of 8.5% (plus a 1.5% ‘unconsolidated’, or once-off and non-pensionable pay measure) over three years, which was recommended by the tribunal. The pay increase was dependent upon pilots accepting significant structural change to their terms and conditions.

The finding on pay developed from the first pay negotiation of its kind since the pandemic effectively grounded the entire aviation industry in 2020. The IALPA executive expressed disappointment with the Tribunal report, and the ballot was issued to members with a recommendation to reject the pay finding.

Captain Tighe said the pay offer did not reflect the sacrifices made by pilots to sustain the company during the pandemic: “Reduced pay, terms and conditions were accepted by Aer Lingus pilots during the pandemic to help Aer Lingus with its recovery. However, Aer Lingus management failed to reverse these measures and return pilots back to their pre-Covid conditions as the company recovered.

“Aer Lingus recently announced bumper profits and has grown to 105% of pre-Covid capacity. IALPA remains open for talks with the company to negotiate an improved pay offer,” he said.

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