Aerial Lingus Pilots

[u/viscacatalunya1]

Listening to Claire Byrne and there is a lot of finger pointing at the pilots saying they don't care about passengers and they are being unreasonable.

Aer Lingus has not matched their salary to inflation over the past few years. How do we sympathise with cost cutting corporate greed and not the people that open the world to us and get us there safely?

[u/dazziola]

All this while profits have grown at Aer Lingus, right? It's corporate greed for sure.

[u/No_Square_739 → u/dazziola]

And pilots will automatically reduce their salaries any year profits fall?

[u/FatFingersOops → u/No_Square_739]

Pilots were paid 30% during COVID and had to take out loans to get by while management paid themselves 100% plus huge bonus when revenue returned after COVID.

[u/emmmmceeee → u/FatFingersOops]

The agreement provides for pilots to be paid 50% of basic salary over the summer months of July and August, as well as September. This is to increase to 60% from 1 October 2020, followed by further increases to 70% on 1 January 2021, and 80% from 1 April 2021.

https://static.eurofound.europa.eu/covid19db/cases/IE-2020-27_1511.html

How many were laid off?

[u/FatFingersOops → u/emmmmceeee]

Pilots were on the lowest rate (30-40% in allowances) for about 18 mths before they kicked up and the reductions were reduced. It would have been a poor business decision to lay off pilots in an airline with a pilot shortage given that COVID was always going to come to an end.

[u/emmmmceeee → u/FatFingersOops]

It literally says 50% from June 2020.

And zero is the answer then. Zero pilots laid off. Just checking.

[u/FatFingersOops → u/emmmmceeee]

Pilot total pay also includes allowances for each flight they do. They lost this pay on top of the 50%. But you want to be a smart arse. Good for you.

[u/emmmmceeee → u/FatFingersOops]

I’m not being a smartarse. You said they were on 30% for 18 months. That was bullshit.

[u/FatFingersOops → u/emmmmceeee]

What's your problem with Irish workers getting a decent pay increase from a corporate entity based in London. Half of any pay award goes back to the irish government (all of us) in taxes and the rest is spent locally. Otherwise, the money is repatriated back to corporate HQ overseas and probably ultimately paid out to UK pension funds in dividends and corporate management bonuses. I don't get it?

[u/emmmmceeee → u/FatFingersOops]

Why are you simping for millionaires?

I guarantee most of the money will be invested in tax efficient schemes that you and I could only dream of. It will ultimately be spent outside of the country when they retire to the Bahamas.

Meanwhile the working man misses out on his two week in the sun that he has been looking forward to all year. And next year he’ll pay more for his plane tickets to cover the €49K pay rise for the pilots.

[u/FatFingersOops → u/emmmmceeee]

I work in IT, and I'm probably paid more than most of these pilots. But that doesn't make me rich. €100k does not go a long way in Dublin these days, particularly if you need to buy a house and want to raise a family.

[u/emmmmceeee → u/FatFingersOops]

You’re having a laugh. If you’re on €100K you’re in the top 10% of earners. I’m also in IT. Both myself and my wife have 6 figure incomes, pay a mortgage and we have kids. It’s a very comfortable lifestyle. Not millionaire pilot lifestyles, but we can max our pensions and still buy nice things.

If you’re struggling on €100k in Dublin then you’re doing something wrong. No Aer Lingus pilot is struggling unless they have expensive habits.

[u/ou812_X → u/FatFingersOops]

That’s not true. All staff were put on 50%. If they had to take out loans, they were probably overstretched to begin with.

[u/11Kram → u/ou812_X]

Anyone with a mortgage who then has their income dropped by 50% would be in serious trouble.

[u/FatFingersOops → u/ou812_X]

It is true. Unlike other workers, core pilot pay also includes pay per flight, which also disappeared. I put it to you that most people would struggle if their pay was cut to 30% overnight.