Irish prime minister meets with Aer Lingus unions over carrier's future

Airline Industry Information, Nov 1, 2001

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern was due to meet with union leaders representing staff at the national carrier, Aer Lingus, on 31 October for crisis talks regarding the carrier's future.

Aer Lingus is losing about IEP2m per day and union officials were expected to put proposals to Ahern on ways to resolve current difficulties. The Irish government has been barred by the European Union from giving Aer Lingus direct state aid and indicated last week that it would be looking to sell a stake of up to 35% in the carrier to private investors, Reuters reported.

John McDonnell, general secretary of the SIPTU, Ireland's largest union has stated, "We need to resolve this situation in the next couple of weeks if the airline is to continue in existence." McDonnell also stated that the carrier was unlikely to attract private investors while redundancy payments remain unresolved. Aer Lingus has indicated that it can only afford to set aside IEP40m for payments, which amounts to IEP15,000-20,000 per employee.

McDonnell also said that state aid given to US carriers had placed Aer Lingus at a disadvantage given its reliance on the US market.

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