Aer Lingus to hire US based cabin crew despite labor turmoil

The Irish airline Aer Lingus will hire new flight attendants for a base staffed with American cabin crew, at Washington Dulles International Airport. The cabin crew will support Aer Lingus nonstops from Dulles to Madrid, which Aer Lingus has operated on behalf of United Airlines since March 2010. The new service, made possible by the Open Skies agreement between the US and EU which allows carriers based in any EU member country to serve the US from any EU member country it chooses. The agreement allows the Irish airline to serve the United States from Spain, which is a member of the EU along with the Irish Republic.

The service has been unpopular with United's unions, which they say is tantamount to outsourcing to a cheaper foreign competitor. Members from United's pilot (ALPA) and flight attendant (AFA) unions picketed the inaugural service from Dulles in March, saying if the company wished to open service from United's Dulles hub to Madrid, their contract requires the company do so with United aircraft crewed by AFA and ALPA members. A grievance filed by both unions remains pending.

Aer Lingus is no stranger to labor strife, where flight attendants represented by the labor union IMPACT are engaging in work-to-rule practices to protest increased productivity demands by from the airline in order to hold down headcount. Work to rule actions can cause disruptions to airline services as flight attendants refuse to work voluntary overtime that the airline normally accounts for when planning for scheduling and staffing. Aer Lingus has said flight schedules were undisrupted by the action. Meanwhile, IMPACT has warned the action could develop into a strike, advising membership they could be ejected from the union if they fail to follow the work to rule action.

Previous complaints by United's unions over United's providing a training facility for non-union Aer Lingus crews appear to have been settled. Newly hired flight attendants are being advised they must complete a training and candidacy process entirely in Ireland. Applications are due for the next new hire class by October 31.