With an ongoing pilots pay dispute, Aer Lingus has lost out on another new aircraft. File photograph: Bryan O’BrienOn Friday, the airline confirmed an A321 XLR plane would “remain available to be allocated elsewhere” within the AIG parent group, which also includes British Airways, Iberia and Vueling.
“Aer Lingus was unable to give IAG the confidence it needed in our cost structure, resulting in the inaugural A321 XLR – originally planned for Aer Lingus – being allocated elsewhere in the group,” a spokeswoman said on Friday. Last week, the Labour Court recommended that the Irish Airline Pilots Association accept pay increases totalling 9.25 per cent and that talks restart on deadlocked issues at the Workplace Relations Commission .However, Ialpa’s executive recommended its members reject the proposal in a ballot which began on Tuesday.
By contrast, Aer Lingus said last week that it accepted the recommendation and agreed to consider interim steps. A key issue in the standoff is calculating the cost of extra summer leave flexibility for pilots that Ialpa agreed with Aer Lingus in 2019.