Aer Lingus looks to move for the long-haul

The Irish carrier that has some trouble of late with potential take-over attempts by rival Ryanair have said they move from their base in Dublin to save the company’s long term future. Possibilities being lined up include Belfast and London, which could help reduce costs and problems they are having with workers unions. Rumours are already rife in saying that they have applied for a UK operating license from Civil Aviation Authority. If granted, Aer Lingus could move all legally and above board with no problems.

The airline has been in long discussions with unions representatives about more than 650 jobs that have to be cut. They want these all to be voluntary redundancies, but unions are fighting the move. The company has said that they must make at least $150 million to still be operating by 2011. The carrier has stated that if an agreement cannot be made by the end of the month they would have to look at other measures to save money including compulsory redundancies or reductions in frequency on some routes.

If the airline moves to the UK it will resolve the workers problems they have as in affect everyone will have to re-apply for their jobs at the new Aer Lingus UK. This could lead to a reduction in staff numbers and maybe help with their pilots who can earn up to $500,000 per year working the transatlantic routes. If they do make the move to the UK it would be drastic, but could help the carrier out in the future.