Aer Lingus ‘spend €400k a day hiring planes and crew’

THE union representing cabin crew involved in an industrial dispute with Aer Lingus have claimed the airline is spending €400,000 per day on leasing aircraft and crew from other airlines.

The IMPACT trade union described this “wet leasing” as “unnecessary” and warned that if the airline decide to hire aircraft and crew for transatlantic flights, the final costs to the airline would cost up to €250,000 per round trip.

According to an IMPACT spokesman, it costs approximately €40,000 to hire an airplane and crew for a European round trip and over €250,000 for a transatlantic return trip. It’s believed up to 10 aircraft per day are being hired.