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THE THREATENED AER Lingus strike on the June bank holiday weekend is behind a €185 price hike on Dublin-London fairs, Irish Travel Agents Association has claimed.
In a statement today, the ITAA pointed out that flying from Dublin to London Gatwick during the threatened strike will currently cost €238.99 compared to just €53.99 the following weekend.
“Whilst this rise can be attributed in part, to the bank holiday, it is undoubtedly also due to the proposed strike action and lack of availability on Friday 30 May.”
The airline released a stock exhange statement earlier today in relation to the threatened strike by IMPACT cabin crew, saying that the prospect of the strike is seriously hurting bookings.
“The unwarranted 24 hour industrial action by the IMPACT trade union, deliberately timed to occur just before the seasonally important June bank holiday weekend in Ireland, has considerably damaged Aer Lingus’ forward booking profile.”
ITAA chief executive Pat Dawson called for a climbdown from all sides.
“We ask that IMPACT and Aer Lingus management enter negotiations immediately in an attempt to prevent the proposed strike action. If it goes ahead as planned, this strike action will affect 40,000 customers causing undue worry and stress on one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.”
He said that many agents are already reporting a drop in bookings and a steep rise in prices for the June bank holiday weekend due to a lack of alternative options for would-be travelers.
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I always favoured Aer Lingus over Ryanair.
But this latest development has left me in doubt and disappointment. Very poor show Aer Lingus.
Don’t think “poor show Aer Lingus” is quite right! Poor show the trade unions there who strike first and think later. And to think that a certain section of government and society want compulsory trade union recognition in all companies! An absolute disaster waiting to happen with the majority of unions we have in this country
Poor form to gouge like that, but hey, supply & demand.
I can’t blame Ryanair, they aren’t a charity.
A stark reminder that we need a lean profitable Aer Lingus doing its job & competing.
Not beholden to the whims of SIPTU & IMPACT.
The last remaining seats on any flights are always inflated in price. Be that Ryanair or Aer Lingus.
And Ryanair want to buy Aerlingus. No more cheap flights if that happens.
They’ve cancelled Dublin-Heathrow though which would have a knock on effect
Does nobody care about the workers striking?
No Kevin. Lucky to have jobs unlike lots of people
So let’s take them down with us? Why not point the finger at Fine Gael & Labour who are part the reason why we have no decent jobs?
FG & labour caused this dispute?
Its a stretch.
No. FG & Labour are the reason there are no decent jobs. Best try not to assume what I am saying but to read it as is.
Well said, Kevin. Let’s have a race to the top, not the bottom.
I’ll support reasonable workers making reasonable demands. I will not support a cabin crew that thinks they should have the same roster as pilots. Completely ludicrous.
25 to 31 days holidays a year; free clothes and parking; generous pension contrib; can fly on hols for little …. fight for workers rights all you want but these people don’t care about workers. An extra 30 days paid leave?
What % of them have parents working or retired from the airline? I wonder …
Sounds like they have it easy, fair enough.
How dare they seek better conditions and leave! Who do these people think they are? Teachers???
The Union has interfered with the running of Aer Lingus since it started business!
Unions know nothing about running a business!
All they know is “Bullyboy tactics”
The Government should introduce legislation to fine Trade Unions €100,000 per day for every day they strike!
Aer Lingus is a good company and needs to become an efficient competent Airline like Ryanair!
The executive of the Trade a Union could not run a “sweet shop” ( not sweat shops!) efficiently. They would want tea breaks every hour!
Aer lingus are still flying to Gatwick on the 30th – so why would use this flight as an example makes no sense ?
U.K. Base crews operate this flight
The Journal has taken a strong anti-worker stance here. Yesterday you brought us the hashtag #PlaneCrazy and now you’re taking about increasing travel costs.
Any chance of an article of the cost to normal people of the driving damn of wages we’ve seen since 2008?
I’d like to see that too.
However such an article could have no reference to semi-state employees, who get paid a large premium over private sector workers.
Join a union Jeremy and get yourself some of that action.
Im supposed to be flying to Brussels that day for a family gathering. It is extremely irritating for people who have made travel plans for that weekend. IMPACT dont seem to care too much about the people who are paying their members’ wages
How many non- Aer Lingus jobs will this irresponsible action cost? Does Impact care?
A wild guess, I’d say none.
Just a wee point lads but as someone who has friends and family in aer Lingus I can tell you it’s absolute management rubbish that cabin crew are looking for 32 paid days extra. All they’ve asked for is a TRIAL of a roster that works for the pilots ( who operate under the same flight time limitations as cabin crew) with a test group of crew to see if this might be the answer to a lot of the rostering issues that have been on going for years. There is no extra cost to the company, no reduction in hours by cabin crew ( there would be increased duty hours in the working 5 to offset the 3rd off) and no reduction in productivity. So someone please explain how this proposal seems unfair and how managements abject refusal to even TRIAL it or indeed even go to the labour court to discuss it doesn’t put a lot of the blame for this strike at their feet?
Because , Dave , in a successful company the management run the company and make decisions in the best interest of the company. Not the workers.
Is there any worth in showing these unions and trolley dollies that the public disapprove of this ‘Yet another strike”? God forbid that one of them might fall asleep while they’re serving tea
Dawson might not be so cocky about his salary after this !
have your say