BA, Aer Lingus fail to reach accords with cabin staff

British Airways and Aer Lingus each reached a crossroads yesterday with disgruntled flight attendants as attempts to agree on terms designed to produce cost savings met with resistance.

British Airways and cabin staff represented by Unite could not reach an accord regarding staffing reductions and a pay freeze imposed by the carrier by yesterday afternoon's deadline, meaning the union now can give strike notice (ATWOnline, March 10). It had not done so as of yesterday evening and must do so by March 15. No further negotiations are scheduled.

A Unite spokesperson told Bloomberg News that union officials will meet today. The union offered concessions including a one-year salary freeze, then a 2.6% pay cut followed by a slight raise, along with reduced pay for new hires, which BA said fell "significantly short" of the £63 million ($94.4 million) in savings Unite claimed the package would achieve, Bloomberg reported. It also featured the reintroduction of a 15th crew member on long-haul flights from London Heathrow, according to Sky News.

In Ireland yesterday, Aer Lingus confirmed that it plans to lay off 230 flight attendants and shift remaining cabin crew to new employment contracts featuring reduced salaries and increased productivity despite Impact union membership's rejection of terms that would help meet EI's goal of lowering annual employment expenses by €97 million ($131.8 million) (ATWOnline, March 10).

CEO Christoph Mueller said there would be no "sweetheart deals for cabin crew." Following a Tuesday board meeting, EI said that "given the overwhelming support" of four union groups, "implementation of the 1,065 compulsory redundancies contemplated in the so called 'Plan B' is unfair." Instead, it will proceed with implementation of those elements of the cost reduction program agreed upon with the four unions.