RYANAIR CEO Michael O’Leary has written a letter to the Irish airline’s pilots apologising for recent disparaging comments and promising better pay if they reject offers from competitors.
In the letter to flight crews, Mr O’Leary offered to beat the pay and conditions offered by rival airlines following the recent cancellations crisis.
The Irishman also apologised to the company’s pilots for the recent disruption to their rosters and accusing them of being “full of their own self-importance” last week.
He also previously branded striking flight crews as “precious” but in the letter, addressed to all Ryanair pilots, he said they have his “utmost respect and admiration”.
O’Leary promised bonuses, improved rostering arrangements, and promised that Ryanair will match and exceed the pay scales of rivals such as Norwegian Air and Jet 2.
“Where at any base we are below them, we will negotiate with that base to ensure we don’t just match them, but rather we will exceed them,” he wrote.
“These pay increases will now allow us to target 737 recruits from these weaker, lower pay airlines.”
Mr O’Leary also urged pilots who might be considering a move to a “less financially secure or Brexit challenged airline” to stay with Ryanair “for a brighter better future for you and your family” – including a twelve month loyalty bonus effective next year.
He described Ryanair pilots as “the best in the business”, “hard workers, well trained and extremely professional” – claiming his recent comments about their work ethic were “misreported”.
He further accused rival airlines and their unions of taking “every opportunity to criticise and denigrate Ryanair, our pilots, our safety, our operating performance and our business model.”
Referencing the recent cancellation storm involving thousands of flights around Europe, O’Leary apologised personally and said there had been “poor planning” during the airline’s “rostering failure”.
He concluded the letter by asking them to give the airline any evidence of higher pay by a rival at their base so Ryanair could “meet it and beat it”.
A significant number of Ryanair employees are reportedly planning to organise, with many seeking official union recognition.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has said it will monitor Ryanair’s treatment of passengers in the wake of the mass flight cancellations, after the airline allegedly failed to ‘fully inform’ customers of their full rights to compensation.
