Sooner than I thought, and by different means, but here you are.
From journalist Abi Bray. Emphasis is mine.
Aer Lingus may be on its way out the Republic of Ireland and may base itself out of London or Belfast in a bid to reduce costs and avoid further problems with unions.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Irish airline has made a formal application to the civil aviation authority in the UK for an operating license.
If granted, this would mean the carrier could legally base its corporate headquarters in either Belfast or London.
The move would permit the struggling airline to start over which would ultimately force their current staff to reapply for their positions under the new Aer Lingus UK brand.
Aer Lingus is going through difficult negotiations with its unions at the moment. The carrier needs to cut 676 jobs which it says would be carried out via voluntary layoffs in order to help save $150 million by the end of 2011 in order to remain active.
Aer Lingus has given an ultimatum of November 30 to the unions to get the labor cuts, after which it would consider a different solution to reduce the size of the airline through route reductions and compulsory layoffs.
On of the biggest problems facing Aer Lingus is the one stemming from its long-haul pilots, who earn up to $500,000 per year and benefit from incredible pension plans as well. At Ryanair by comparison, the pilots earn half as much.
Meanwhile, the carrier has admitted that more voluntary redundancies are needed by the carrier.
Some aviation industry experts have claimed that Aer Lingus is searching ways to get rid nearly one fifth of its staff. The carrier said it had a preference for voluntary redundancies, but added that compulsory one has not been ruled out.
Aer Lingus is far from being the only carrier in this tight situation. Other airlines such as British Airways and Japan Airlines are also going through major union disputes.
So, just how viable would a new Aer Lingus (UK) be, operating to the Republic from LGW and LHR, rather than the other way around as is currently the case? Is there a viable future for AERL long haul at all? What about if they rebranded themselves to operate across the pond using their 50 LHR slot pairs? It seems to me a bit of creative management thinking could indeed yet save Aer Lingus from the boneyard of aviation history.
Discuss.