Chief operations officer Willie Walsh was confirmed as chief executive of Aer Lingus on Thursday. The former pilot did not apply for the position but was persuaded to undertake what is one of the most difficult management roles in Ireland. A day later Mr Walsh presented the survival plan to staff representatives and union leaders. There was little consolation from the news that the number of redundancies had reduced to 2,026. The unions still believe that the plan is negotiable and are particularly concerned at how the redundancies will be managed.
Management believe that compulsory redundancies are required to achieve the necessary savings.
The unions were also unhappy to hear that some 800 employees are to be allocated to what will become three subsidiaries of the airline, providing catering, information technology and ground handling services. These subsidiaries will eventually be sold off, although the unions will fight that. The debate on the future of Shannon was reopened more than a week ago and should have received a mention in last week's edition. It's a strange debate as it is conducted by Dublin-based commentators and they all seem to assume that no one in his or her right mind would ever want to cross the Atlantic either from or to Shannon as long as Dublin airport is open to traffic. None of the airlines reputed to wish to see an end to the Shannon stopover has published any data to justify such a move.