A 'swift and solid response' in this instance amounts to shooting yourself in both feet. Why? Because the strike is against yourself as a shareholder!
O'Leary and company in Ryanair must be laughing all the way to higher profits at AL's and its employees (also shareholders) expense!
Cop on guys and gals and call off the 48 hour strike before it's too late.
Sit down with AL management and hammer out a meaningful agreement which will result in a lower cost base and which might raise a few eye brows elsewhere including Ryanair.
Meanwhile I must log on to FR's site and book those Manchester flights in Sept because I cannot rely on AL to deliver. Pity because I believe in competition.
Then again only for the competiton between FR and AL I would still be paying a fortune to AL like I used to 15 years ago.
Remember those years when it cost 250 Punts/330 Euro for flights between Irish and British Airports.
Did IALPA consider 48 hour strikes in those years because AL would not consider lower fares? Like hell they did because those were the years when Aer Lingus staff at all levels milked the passenger as much as possible with the connivance of the various Governments.
Despite all the criticism of MOL/Ryanair it was not until his/their arrival that AL went part of the way under Willie Walsh and became somewhat more competitive.
Mannion is trying to move all the AL staff along the competitve road but of course the various unions and staff at AL don't want to know. A lot has changed but not enough.
When will the Unions and AL Staff cop on to the reality of the situation as it is now and accept that the way forward is sitting down with AL management and agree to new more competitive work practices before it's too late - again!