Aer Lingus to withdraw cheap travel from cabin crew strikers

Aer Lingus is to withdraw cheap travel privileges from cabin crew who took part in the strike at the airline last Friday.

The airline wrote to the cabin crew involved today setting out that their travel privileges were to be suspended indefinitely.

The letter from the airline also advised the cabin crew that they would not be paid for last Friday.

Under current arrangements, staff at the airline can avail of stand-by travel on Aer Lingus flights at discounted rates.

It is understood that the stand-by travel for staff and their families is offered at a flat rate depending on the destination.

Informed sources said the round-trip cost of flights to the US is around €150, while the round-trip cost of flights to most European cities is around €50.

The round-trip cost of travel to London is around €75.

A spokesman for Aer Lingus declined to comment on the letters sent to cabin crew.

The trade union Impact, which represents cabin crew at the airline, did not comment either on the letters.

The move came ahead of the start of scheduled talks tomorrow between management at the airline and Impact on roster arrangements - the issue at the heart of the current dispute.

Around 28,000 people had their travel plans disrupted last Friday due to the strike by cabin crew.

The 24-hour stoppage is understood to have cost Aer Lingus between €6 million and €10 million, although the airline has not set out a specific figure publicly.

Last Friday, Ryanair, the largest shareholder in Aer Lingus, urged that sanctions be imposed against striking cabin crew.

Impact has warned that there would be further industrial action at Aer Lingus if there was no progress in the forthcoming talks.

The cabin crew are demanding a more structured roster arrangement which would see them work for five days and then be off for three days. They say this fixed roster arrangement is currently in place for pilots at the airline.

Cabin crew at Aer Lingus have maintained that existing roster arrangements are erratic, leave them exhausted and interfere with their family lives.

Aer Lingus said last week it had lost all revenue for last Friday, a significant amount earlier in the week and for this week as it had to use seats which would normally be sold to fare-paying passengers to reschedule those affected by the strike. It said it also incurred costs in hiring aircraft.

Aer Lingus said “an overhanging cloud of doubt” about industrial action at the airline had led customers to veer away from its website, and was effectively chasing them into the arms of its competitors.