Loose talk will only confuse passengers

LAST year, it looked as if Ryanair’s industrial relations problems with its pilots were well on the way to being fixed. The airline stunned everyone by turning its back on the core strategy of not recognising unions, and offered pay rises to pilots subject to certain conditions. After a period of uncertainty, it seemed passengers could finally count on the fact that their travel plans would not be disrupted.

But yesterday, chief executive Michael O’Leary said he expected a strike in either Ireland or Portugal during Easter week as talks between the two sides have faltered. The discussions are, however, still ongoing and the Irish pilot union Fórsa/IALPA has not announced plans to strike.

Mr O’Leary clearly feels he knows something we don’t, and it is generally welcome to be appraised of the threat of industrial action with as much advance notice as possible.

In this case, though, the airline has not been served with strike notice and Mr O’Leary cannot even say with certainty which country would be affected.

His outburst during a period of negotiation cannot benefit that process and also serves only to cause anxiety for travellers, particularly families who have booked Easter breaks over the school holidays. They now have little guidance on whether they should make alternative arrangements for their travel – only a seed of fear and doubt sown by an airline executive.

We have seen how Ryanair is virtually immune to criticism, no matter what it does, but the one thing it will not counteract is uncertainty.

Yes, we will still book with the airline if it takes our carry-on bags or even makes us stand all the way – but we will not do so if we cannot be sure the flight will actually take off. Mr O’Leary should be more careful with his loose talk and get back to the negotiating table.