Staff at Aer Lingus ‘must accept job cuts’

AER LINGUS says its employees must accept that costs will have to be kept under control if the airline is to be profitable.

The airline’s chief executive Willie Walsh said yesterday that as part of turning itself into a low fares carrier it must keep its cost base down and increase productivity if the airline was to compete with the likes of Ryanair and Easyjet.

“We are committed to delivering on low fares. To deliver that on a sustainable basis while continuing to expand and lower fares we must address our costs. Our costs are out of line with our competitors and there is a lot more we can do,” Mr Walsh said yesterday.