Aer Lingus has denied suggestions that its decision to lease some Ryanair aircraft during next week's two day strike is provocative.
The airline's commercial director, Enda Corneille, confirmed it had taken up the offer from Ryanair to lease spare planes, but he said it was doing so purely on a full commercial basis in order to facilitate passengers.
Aer Lingus said it will now be able to carry all passengers who have booked to travel on its Heathrow, Manchester and Amsterdam services on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Mr Corneille said it had managed to lease in enough capacity to operate the services, and would carry around 10,000 passengers over the two days.
But he said its transatlantic services would not run at all.
The airline has published details in today's newspapers of the services that will run, and Mr Corneille said he did not expect further capacity would be added.
The Irish Airline Pilots Association has said it has no difficulty with Ryanair planes and pilots being used by Aer Lingus on the strike days.
IALPA President, Evan Cullen, said the association had written to other pilots associations around the world, asking them to cooperate with Aer Lingus if asked, in order to reduce the impact on customers.
Meanwhile, a US-based union, the Allied Pilots' Association, which represents American Airlines' 12,000 pilots, is sending a delegation to Ireland to support Aer Lingus pilots who are planning a 48-hour strike on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Association's President, Lloyd Hill, said the efforts by Irish pilots to ensure that the Aer Lingus management complies with the terms of their collective bargaining agreement is a struggle for pilots worldwide. The dispute centres on the airline's opening of a new hub in Belfast.
Last night, an estimated 5,000 people took part in a protest march at Shannon to demand that Aer Lingus reverse its decision to end its Heathrow service.
Aer Lingus Chief Executive, Dermot Mannion, said earlier that there would be no going back on the decision for now. He also issued a direct appeal to Aer Lingus pilots not to go ahead with next week's strike.
