To paraphrase his own words " This is another example of unions leaders' obsession against privatisation / PFI". I presume he would be happier if billions of pounds worth of tax payers' aircraft are purchased to do absolutely bu**er all for 99% of the time!. Seems like an excellent idea - in principal, obviously the reality will be more difficult to pull off.
On a journalistic note, I'm not sure why the Guardian has chosen now to start talking about something that has been public knowledge for a very long time. Secondly, I would have thought it unlikely that many of this aircraft type would be used on runs to the Spanish Costas.