Article from BTNews 30 JULY 2018
Dublin fleet cutback
In a move widely expected to be repeated elsewhere in face of continuing industrial unrest, Ryanair is to cut its Dublin-based fleet from 30 to 24 aircraft for winter 2018-19 amid claims strikes by Irish pilots have had a negative effect on forward air fares.
The carrier says the 20% fleet reduction reflects a downturn in forward bookings and lower fares in Ireland. The strikes, it adds, have meant consumer confidence in the reliability of Ryanair flights has been “disturbed” and job losses may follow.
The aircraft are being re-allocated to Ryanair’s growing Polish charter airline, which the carrier says has provided five aircraft for Polish tour operators this summer.
Ryanair says it has written to more than 100 Dublin-based pilots and 200 cabin crew with a 90-day protective notice that their services “may not be required” from 28 October.
If the airline makes redundancies, it says it will review “flight performance, productivity, attendance and base transfer requests” and offer to transfer staff to Poland or other bases.
COO Peter Bellew said Ryanair was allocating more aircraft to growth markets, resulting in “aircraft reductions and job cuts where business has weakened, or forward bookings are being damaged by rolling strikes by Irish pilots”.
(See also Ryanair results warning in this issue).
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