Aer Arann salaries to drop 7%

AER ARANN intends to cut salaries at the airline by an average of 7 per cent, as the latest measure aimed at achieving costs savings of up to €2 million a year.

The pay cuts will range from 5 per cent to 9 per cent for staff, with executive and management salaries reduced by an average 17 per cent. The cuts will be introduced in May.

This move follows the implementation of 60 redundancies since last October.

The airline had originally planned to shed 100 jobs, but this figure was reduced when it opened a new base in the Isle of Man to serve a business route to London City Airport.

The Irish airline currently employs about 300 staff.

Aer Arann has also reduced its fleet from 15 to 12 aircraft and has cut a number of routes from its schedule in a bid to contain costs.

Aer Arann, which is controlled by entrepreneur Pádraig Ó Céidigh, carried about 950,000 passengers in 2008.

It expects this figure to decline to 800,000 this year as a result of the recession and its reduced schedule of flights.

Aer Arann chief executive Paul Schütz said: “We cannot stand still as the economy finds its level. We have to ensure that we are fit and lean and ready to respond to market conditions.

“That means controlling our costs while at the same time continuing to improve the level of service that we offer our customers.”

Aer Arann operates about 30 routes, mostly from the west of Ireland. These include a number of public service obligation routes from Dublin to Donegal, Derry, Galway, Knock and Sligo.

The airline, which operated its first commercial flight in 1970, does not publish any financial information.