With the prospect of mass suspensions of pilots on Monday and Tuesday next, the Labour Relations Commission is expected to invite Aer Lingus management and the pilots to talks over the weekend. Martin Wall, Industry Correspondent, reports.
"This is not a dispute where we are going to go in and have a little fudge and all come out having saved face," Aer Lingus commercial director Enda Corneille insisted.
"It is about the future of the business and who is actually running the business and who is driving it and no one group being allowed to have an effective veto, which is what the pilots effectively have over us at the moment in terms of development of bases," he said.
And last night Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion said: "Push has come to shove. We must move ahead, and that's the difficult space we are in."
Aer Lingus insisted it was working on the basis that it would operate a full service next week but the trade union Impact, which represents pilots, said that mass suspensions would effectively shut the airline down from Tuesday morning.
The airline has warned its 480 pilots that they will face suspension from next Monday unless they give an undertaking to co-operate with the establishment of its new base in Belfast.
The dispute escalated further yesterday with two more pilots being suspended for refusing to co-operate with the recruitment of staff for the Belfast base.
At a briefing, Mr Corneille said that the airline currently had no contingency plan to put in place in the event of a stoppage.
He said that it had set a deadline of Monday for the pilots to respond and that it had to allow this to pass. However, he said that Aer Lingus was monitoring the situation on a daily basis.
Up to 15,000 passengers each day could be affected if the Aer Lingus fleet is grounded as a result of the current row.
Aer Lingus is seeking pilots to co-operate with assessing applicants for its Belfast base as well as to provide training for successful candidates.
The Irish Airline Pilots Association (Ialpa), which is a branch of Impact, has placed a ban on co-operation with the establishment of the new base.
It is seeking a role in the negotiation of the terms and conditions to apply in Belfast. It has said that it will accept a lower cost base for pilots in the new base but has concerns about the pension scheme to apply and on whether pilots should be allowed to transfer between the company's various bases.
Mr Corneille said that the dispute was "fundamental" for the company. He said that Ryanair was establishing its 23rd base while Aer Lingus was seeking to establish its first one (outside the Republic).
"If we do not expand we are going to be picked off and it is only a matter of time before we shrivel up and die. We need to grow the business. This is fundamental. It is under the torch of Belfast but it is not about Belfast," he said.
The president of Ialpa, Evan Cullan, said pilots were in favour of growing the business and wanted the company to establish multiple bases in Europe. Mr Cullan said that Ialpa was not against change but wanted agreed change and not imposed change. He said that it was available for unconditional talks at any stage.
Meanwhile CityJet, the Swords-based subsidiary of Air France, said yesterday it is evaluating the possibility of launching replacement services to London City Airport and Charles de Gaulle in Paris following talks recently with the Shannon Airport Authority.