26 September, 2020

easyJet hanging by a thread according to union official


BBC News is reporting that it has been told that one of the largest European low-cost airlines, easyJet "hanging by a thread"

Union official Martin Entwisle said the budget airline was in a "really, really dire situation." in a recording leaked to BBC News.  Apparently, Entwisle is said to have made the comment after a meeting with the airline's chief financial officer, Andrew Findlay.

Entwisle, along with three other representatives of  BALPA - the pilots' union and senior easyJet management took place two weeks ago. In a following presentation to easyJet pilots, Entwisle, an easyJet captain and union rep, said, "I think the easiest way to put it is that the company is hanging by a thread. The situation is dire. If we don't have a good summer next summer and make a considerable amount of money, we really are going to be out of a job."

The carrier wants the majority of its staff to take up part-time working schedules in order for it to save money and ultimately save jobs.

In the recording, Entwisle said the winter is looking "dire" resulting ineasyJet cutting back significantly on its usual flight schedule. Claiming that peak flying each day during the winter "is not going to exceed 90 aircraft in the UK."  adding "some of it is absolutely horrendous - some bases are looking at in excess of 50 - 60% cuts, possibly this winter."


BALPA claims it achieved a breakthrough in negotiations between pilots and the airline in recent days,
writing in a statement the unions says that all the pilots based at Southend, Stansted, and Newcastle which have been closed by easyJet will be offered jobs elsewhere on the UK network.  Further negotiations have seen 60 pilots leaving the carrier voluntarily with a further 1,500 pilots opting for part-time work.   
     
Brian Strutton, BALPA General Secretary said, “This is a remarkable achievement which has only been possible because of three groups of people: the BALPA reps, easyJet management who have worked with us constructively during this process, but most of all the easyJet pilots themselves who have volunteered in record numbers for part-time work and voluntary redundancy to help save their colleagues’ jobs.”  

The airline denies Entwisle's characterisation of the situation for the airline during what has been an unprecedented difficult time for the entire airline industry. 




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