Ryanair hits out at striking workers with Irish fleet cuts

Bloomberg

Ryanair Holdings Plc is pulling a fifth of its planes from its Dublin base this winter as the budget carrier moves to counter intensifying labor unrest causing flight disruptions across Europe.
The airline said it will cut its Irish fleet by a fifth to 24 aircraft for winter 2018, blaming pilot walkouts for hurting bookings, air fares and consumer confidence in Irish flight schedules. It said it has sent letters informing more than 100 pilots and 200 cabin crew that their services may not be needed from October 28.
The announcement comes as cabin crew in Spain, Belgium, Portugal and Italy hold one or two-day walkouts starting on Wednesday in disputes over pay and conditions. The airline has cancelled 600 flights in response to the strikes, following similar action by Irish pilots that also led to flight disruptions.
Ryanair’s shares rose as much as 2.9 percent after the Dublin fleet cut, a sign that investors stand behind CEO Michael O’Leary’s attempt to undercut the union-led action. The discount giant has said it won’t concede to “unreasonable demands.”
The disruptions at the height of Europe’s busiest summer travel season mark the first major industrial action the budget carrier has seen after it agreed to accept unionisation in the face of a staffing crunch last year.
“Antagonising the workforce in the context of labour disputes is a very risky strategy,” Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska wrote.
The move “will likely lead to greater union membership and higher strike participation,” as well as a push for guarantees on aircraft and employment levels “fundamentally at odds with what Ryanair wants to achieve,”
he said.
Forsa said that further strikes will follow unless Ryanair negotiates “in good faith,” while adding that
it’s not clear whether
the planned Irish groundings represent a significant change in practice since the airline typically idles a number of planes each winter as demand declines.
Ryanair didn’t respond to requests for comment on how the new plan compares with previous reductions.
The conflict is starting to weigh on earnings, with the company posting a 20 percent drop in first-quarter profit.
Passenger wariness about booking fed a drop in prices, just as fuel cost rose and the Irish carrier shelled out for a 20 percent pay increase already granted to pilots.