Ahern Seeks Rescue Plan for Aer Lingus
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Ahern Seeks Rescue Plan for Aer Lingus
From today's Telegraph:
Ahern seeks rescue plan for Aer Lingus
(Filed: 06/10/2001)
A RESCUE plan to save Aer Lingus, the Irish national airline, is be discussed by the company's board, unions and government officials, Bertie Ahern, the Irish Prime Minister, said yesterday.
Transatlantic bookings with the state airline have fallen by 80 per cent since September 11. The company was now losing IR£2 million [about £1.7m] a day.
Describing the company's situation as "serious", Mr Ahern said European Union regulations prevented governments propping up national airlines.
"This country has to deal with the Aer Lingus crisis," said Mr Ahern in Killarney. "The government will be working with the board and the unions on a viable plan."
The general workers' union Siptu said it was inevitable that EU rules would have to be changed.
"The EU might be beginning to accept the fact that if they don't put aid into airlines in Europe, particularly in the transatlantic areas, whenever there's a pick-up in the aviation industry the only airlines left flying will be the American airlines," said Noel Dowling, a union spokesman.
"The Americans can put billions into their airlines but Europe has to sit back and watch its airlines disappear." Mr Dowling said unions accepted there would be job losses and that drastic restructuring was needed.
(Filed: 06/10/2001)
A RESCUE plan to save Aer Lingus, the Irish national airline, is be discussed by the company's board, unions and government officials, Bertie Ahern, the Irish Prime Minister, said yesterday.
Transatlantic bookings with the state airline have fallen by 80 per cent since September 11. The company was now losing IR£2 million [about £1.7m] a day.
Describing the company's situation as "serious", Mr Ahern said European Union regulations prevented governments propping up national airlines.
"This country has to deal with the Aer Lingus crisis," said Mr Ahern in Killarney. "The government will be working with the board and the unions on a viable plan."
The general workers' union Siptu said it was inevitable that EU rules would have to be changed.
"The EU might be beginning to accept the fact that if they don't put aid into airlines in Europe, particularly in the transatlantic areas, whenever there's a pick-up in the aviation industry the only airlines left flying will be the American airlines," said Noel Dowling, a union spokesman.
"The Americans can put billions into their airlines but Europe has to sit back and watch its airlines disappear." Mr Dowling said unions accepted there would be job losses and that drastic restructuring was needed.
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"The EU might be beginning to accept the fact that if they don't put aid into airlines in Europe, particularly in the transatlantic areas, whenever there's a pick-up in the aviation industry the only airlines left flying will be the American airlines," said Noel Dowling, a union spokesman.
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Or the airlines without massive cost bases, huge numbers of HO staff, and an attitude to the industry that isn't rooted in 1975.
If EI or anyone else, is losing money let them. All they have done in the last few weeks is sit tight and wait for the inevitable subsidy. Try cutting fares.
"The EU might be beginning to accept the fact that if they don't put aid into airlines in Europe, particularly in the transatlantic areas, whenever there's a pick-up in the aviation industry the only airlines left flying will be the American airlines," said Noel Dowling, a union spokesman.
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Or the airlines without massive cost bases, huge numbers of HO staff, and an attitude to the industry that isn't rooted in 1975.
If EI or anyone else, is losing money let them. All they have done in the last few weeks is sit tight and wait for the inevitable subsidy. Try cutting fares.
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Unlike Swissair or ANZ, Aer Lingus has tried for the past decade to focus on what it should have been focussing on, trying to build its core business in Ireland. It had modest, but respectable success. It was not allowed, by unions (who had a hold on the government), to make staff compulsorily redundant and its transatlantic routes - the most successful part of the operation (then) was held down by the remnants of the Shannon stopover policy.
It was amusing, if not a little hyprocritical, to hear MO'R speak about flexibility; will she show the same level of flexibility when asked the re-consider the SNN issue, or will any impending aid from the government require this to be ditched?
The union bar on compulsory redundancies has had an effect on the airline's development; it has never had a graduate recruitment drive and basically, the only way in is from the bottom of the rung; this is undoubtedly going to cause problems in the future when the airline needs to take on new people at higher levels; it cannot, like any business, parachute all the top people in.
Its fleet needs a bit of attention, there being two types in the 110 seat class (146 and 735) and 150-160 seat class (734 and 320) - something which will probably have to be addressed fairly urgently.
Yes, of course, it has serious problems, but most - whether the US problems, F&M, the inability to make compulsory redundancies and the Shannon stop - have not been of its own making; it deserves to get through the current crisis and has the potential to be a successful carrier.
It was amusing, if not a little hyprocritical, to hear MO'R speak about flexibility; will she show the same level of flexibility when asked the re-consider the SNN issue, or will any impending aid from the government require this to be ditched?
The union bar on compulsory redundancies has had an effect on the airline's development; it has never had a graduate recruitment drive and basically, the only way in is from the bottom of the rung; this is undoubtedly going to cause problems in the future when the airline needs to take on new people at higher levels; it cannot, like any business, parachute all the top people in.
Its fleet needs a bit of attention, there being two types in the 110 seat class (146 and 735) and 150-160 seat class (734 and 320) - something which will probably have to be addressed fairly urgently.
Yes, of course, it has serious problems, but most - whether the US problems, F&M, the inability to make compulsory redundancies and the Shannon stop - have not been of its own making; it deserves to get through the current crisis and has the potential to be a successful carrier.
