Aer Lingus is hopeful a crucial deal with cabin crew, which would facilitate the creation of several new long-haul routes, will be concluded shortly, the airline's chairman has said.
John Sharman said as soon as agreement was reached, several new routes could become economical. Routes to South Africa, the Middle East and Asia are being actively considered. Even the idea of establishing a new base in Europe has not been ruled out.
Mr Sharman said Dermot Mannion, the new chief executive, was currently examining a range of new routes and a deal with cabin crew would alter these calculations significantly. The company is hoping to agree what is described as a "fly anywhere" agreement. This would allow the airline to fly to any destination at very short notice.
Talks are due to take place at the Labour Relations Commission today. Sources said most of the main points of the deal were now agreed, but some negotiation was still needed. The two main unions involved in the talks are Impact and Siptu.
A deal is likely to emerge that allows the airline to have fewer crew numbers on board, but at the same time guarantees crews their existing time-off arrangements.
The issue of how many crew should staff long-haul services was recently at the centre of a row over the airline's Dublin to Orlando service. The airline said the service was not economical unless unions agreed to fewer crew numbers. The two sides are also trying to agree on what constitutes long haul and short haul.
The two unions involved are not negotiating together, but have instead opted for what is called a "parallel process". A few months ago, the Labour Court backed the unions when it said the airline was seeking changes which went well beyond the scope envisaged under Sustaining Progress.
The company has argued that what it was seeking was covered under the "ongoing change" section of the agreement.
The company is currently selecting advisers to provide advice on its future ownership options. The Department of Transport has already appointed AIB Capital Markets and UBS as its advisers on a potential sale. The Government has said it will retain at least 25 per cent of the equity. The method of sale has not been agreed so far.
