Ryanair pilots’ union rejects suggestion of pay freeze

Ryanair is warning the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (Ialpa) and other unions that have yet to sign new pay deals that they risk possible salary freezes if they do not reach an agreement with the airline before next April.

However, Ialpa has rejected his suggestion that pilots should accept pay freezes as a result of rising fuel costs.

Faced with a €2 billion fuel bill increase in 2027, the airline is considering cuts across its business that chief executive Michael O’Leary said could include pay freezes where unions have not struck deals with the company by April.

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Ryanair negotiates multiyear settlements with its unions and recently reached agreements in most of Europe, barring the Republic, United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal, O’Leary confirmed on Monday.

Organisations that have yet to sign deals with the company have the opportunity to do so before Ryanair’s next financial year begins in April, he added.

“We’re not minded to give any pay increases from April next year,” said O’Leary.

If industrial action results, the airline will manage this, O’Leary predicted. “We’re not encouraging strikes, but they will actually save us money,” he said.

Ialpa rejected that pilots should accept pay freezes as a result of rising fuel costs.

“Other airlines manage the same fuel costs while paying their pilots significantly more than those in Ryanair,” the union said.

Noting that the company made a €2 billion profit in the six months to the end of September, Ialpa argued that Ryanair should “look to executive remuneration and shareholder distributions” for savings.

“Despite Michael O’Leary’s unhelpful intervention, Ialpa will continue to engage constructively with Ryanair management,” it said.

Ialpa is determined to negotiate terms that properly compensate pilots for their contribution to Ryanair’s financial success, its statement stressed.

Rising air fares are unlikely to compensate completely for the airline’s higher fuel bill, so it is seeking savings across its business.

It has slowed pilot and cabin crew recruitment as it will take delivery of just 15 new aircraft next year, according to O’Leary. He noted that few of its existing pilots were leaving.

The company has cut capacity for the winter months, so it will carry 214 million passengers in this financial year instead of the predicted 215 million.

Ryanair is hiring fewer middle managers and has reined in a graduate programme as artificial intelligence enables existing management to “do more with less”, he said.

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The company is looking at more ways of using this technology to boost productivity.

It continues to scrutinise airport charges and taxes, moving aircraft to gateways and jurisdictions that reduce these costs, O’Leary said.

Fares have begun rising since the end of September. Ryanair estimates that air fares could increase by more than 10 per cent next year.

But O’Leary said this could approach 20 per cent if the crisis forces vulnerable carriers such as Wizz or Norwegian out of business.

The resulting loss of seats, added to cuts implemented by legacy airlines, would force ticket prices even higher, he said.