Trainee cabin crew jettisoned in Aer Lingus dispute

Up to 30 trainee cabin crew were yesterday told by Aer Lingus their training was being stopped and to hand back their uniforms because the airline has had to use a contractor to crew its transatlantic services.

The news came as cabin crew union Impact last night began a ballot for industrial action which could see strikes at the airline from the middle of next month. That action is not only over the dispute in relation to transatlantic flights, but also numerous other issues, including rostering and alleged breaches of agreements.

Aer Lingus is to significantly increase the frequency of its service to the US from January using Boeing 757s instead of the larger Airbus 330s, which it currently operates. The airline had initially planned to wet lease planes plus pilots from leasing company ACL but use its own cabin crew, mainly drawn from its Shannon compliment of 90.