Aer Lingus is dealing with what can only be described as a very strange dispute between management, the union representing pilots, and some non-union flight attendants, as reported by The Irish Times (thanks to Jim__Douglas for flagging this).
Aer Lingus captain refuses to seat crew in business class
This incident transpired last week on an Aer Lingus Airbus A330 flight from Barbados (BGI) to Manchester (MAN). The aircraft was just being repositioned back to Manchester empty, so the only people onboard were the pilots flying the plane, plus a crew of flight attendants who were being positioned back to their base.
Many Aer Lingus flight attendants based in Manchester are currently engaged in industrial action, as we’ve seen repeated strikes. However, the flight attendants who were being positioning back to Manchester on this flight weren’t union members (as flight attendants don’t have to be members of the union).
The captain reportedly assigned these flight attendants economy class seats, even though the cabin was completely empty. Their manager complained to Aer Lingus in Dublin, since ordinarily crews would be able to sit in business class on a space available basis.
During the flight, Aer Lingus Chief Operations Officer Adrian Dunne (no relation to… nevermind) reportedly contacted the pilots, to inform them that the positioning crew could sit in business class. The captain did not comply with this request, but filed a safety report upon landing.
Management suspended the pilot following the flight. The Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (IALPA), which represents Aer Lingus pilots, claims that the company’s executive had no authority to interfere with the captain on the crew’s seating, as it had implications for the aircraft’s balance and safety. The union also said that they should not have contacted the pilots during the flight.
The captain has been suspended pending an investigation, and this is causing much bigger issues. The union also denies any suggestion that the pilot was bringing industrial relations issues onboard the aircraft.
Pilot suspension causes internal drama at Aer Lingus
After Aer Lingus suspended a pilot over this incident, two Aer Lingus pilots based in Manchester have resigned from their roles as managers in operations and safety, in support of their colleague. However, they remain employed as pilots at the airline.
IALPA has voted no confidence in Aer Lingus’ top executives, including the one who sent the message to pilots, asking them to upgrade the crew to business class. However, they insist that’s unrelated to this particular incident, but rather due to the overall situation at the airline. As IALPA President Mark Tighe describes this:
“The processes referred to by Aer Lingus are in regard to an individual pilot and are not the subject of the no-confidence motion. The motion was solely brought about due to executive management’s interference in an operational flight and the chief executive’s indifference to that issue.”
There’s no denying that relations between Aer Lingus management and pilots is really bad, after their last round of contract negotiations.
Now, regarding this particular situation, I can’t speak with any authority, but I find it hard to imagine that the captain’s decision to seat the crew in economy was anything but “punishment” for them choosing not to unionize. Yes, weight and balance absolutely is a consideration, but I struggle to believe that an otherwise empty plane would be in a situation where under a dozen flight attendants would cause operational issues.
Every time I’ve seen a crew reposition on an empty aircraft, they’ve been seated in premium cabins, so it seems to work every other time.
Again, I wasn’t there, so I can’t say for sure. At the same time, I imagine these operational decisions are technically up to the captain, which is why the captain wasn’t happy when his decision was second guessed by management. I can’t imagine how tense relations onboard must’ve been, between the pilots and the non-union flight attendants.
Bottom line
An Aer Lingus captain has been suspended after he reportedly refused to seat a crew in business class on an otherwise empty flight. The captain was angry after management tried to interfere, arguing that he has control over safety and weight and balance.
The interesting detail here is that these were non-union flight attendants, and other flight attendants at the carrier’s Manchester base are currently on strike. Given that Aer Lingus pilots are unionized, and there’s a lot of bad blood between management and the pilots, one certainly wonders…
What do you make of this strange Aer Lingus situation?
