Members of the Irish Airline Pilots' Association (IALPA) at Aer Lingus have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action.
97.7% of the 739 ballots that were returned were in favour of the action, while 2.3% voted against it.
IALPA members at Aer Lingus want management to "come to their senses", the association's President has said.
Speaking on RTÉ's Six One Captain Mark Tighe described as "resounding" the results of a ballot among IALPA members in favour of industrial action.
Mr Tighe said members will announce in due course what action this will include but he said they want to avoid industrial action which could lead to widespread travel disruption for holidaymakers this summer.
"We want to avoid industrial action, we want management to come to their senses.
"Talks are ongoing, but he said they are currently "stuck" on an annual cost of less than €3 million for an existing pilot agreement."
The Labour Court has recommended that pilots receive increases of 9.25%, but pilots are seeking just under 24%.
'Severe impact'
The impact of strike action at Aer Lingus by members of IALPA would have a "severe impact" on customers, the airline's Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Donal Moriarty, has said.
Also speaking on RTÉ's Six One, Mr Moriarty said such an impact would be "inevitable" should pilots follow through on action.
He added that the result of such action would be a large number of flight cancellations.
Aer Lingus would "do everything possible both to refund customers and to arrange alternative transport for them to get to their destination", he said.
However, Mr Moriarty said the busy summer period may hamper the accommodation of all customers.
"What we do commit to is communicating very clearly with our customers if that is to happen, and we will try to guide them through the impact as clearly as possible.
"But given how busy the summer is, not just for Aer Lingus, but for all the airlines, accommodating passengers will be very challenging."
Many pilots at Aer Lingus are paid "very well" and in line with the market rate, Mr Moriarty said.
He described the increases being sought by IALPA as "exorbitant".
"We've got many pilots in Aer Lingus and they are truly valued colleagues, but they are paid very well for the work that they do, and they're paid in line with the market.
"The increases being sought by IALPA are exorbitant and frankly, untenable."
He cited significant deterioration in the airline's profit performance when compared with pre-Covid levels.
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But in a statement, the IALPA President said Aer Lingus "reported €225 million profit - an increase of 400% on the previous year".
Mr Tighe said: "The sister airline of Aer Lingus - British Airways - has essentially the same operating margin, yet it awarded pilots a 24% increase in 2019.
"Other pilots in Europe secured above-inflation pay increases, including those in Lufthansa who got 27% and Virgin Atlantic who were offered 29%.
"Pilots have not had a pay increase since 2019 and made enormous sacrifices to save Aer Lingus during the pandemic," he added.
No time set for resumption of talks
Talks between Aer Lingus management and IALPA have concluded for the evening. A time for the resumption of talks has not yet been confirmed.
Last week, IALPA members voted overwhelmingly to reject a Labour Court recommendation that pilots should receive pay increases totalling 9.25% as part of an interim settlement.
The figure was well below the 23.8% that the pilots had been seeking.
Aer Lingus said that no significant progress was made at yesterday's talks and it accused IALPA of demanding an unsustainable level of increase in pilot pay that was not supported by any increases in productivity or flexibility.
In an update to members, IALPA said it concluded talks with Aer Lingus when the airline indicated that no further discussion could take place without IALPA agreeing to productivity changes to increase the pay offer.
"Aer Lingus expressed a wish to return to a third-party mediator or the WRC which was rejected by IALPA in favour of direct negotiations," the union said.
"IALPA views direct negotiations as the best way forward considering 20 months of process have concluded without agreement," it added.
IALPA has said that previous pay offers do not reflect the impact of inflation, the large profits being made by Aer Lingus, or the sacrifices made by pilots during the pandemic in order to save the company.
The union has accused management of failing to reverse many of the pandemic measures which it said includes lower pay scales for new entrants.
Aer Lingus has described the IALPA ballot as entirely unnecessary warning that industrial action would be disruptive to the airline's customers and other employees.
The company has accused IALPA of failing to engage in various independent processes in a responsible manner, and has claimed that the union's stance risks investment, growth and jobs in the airline.
Aer Lingus has said that it has lost the opportunity to secure two new Airbus aircraft from its parent IAG due to the uncertainty caused by the ongoing pay dispute.
The Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) has called for a resolution to the Aer Lingus pilots dispute.
"The ITAA is urging Aer Lingus and unions to reach a resolution and avoid any disruptive strike action," said Angela Walsh, President of the ITAA.
"Travel agents are on the front line when strikes, cancellations and other disruptions occur and are the first port of call for customers."
"While we are always happy to minimise all disruption for our customers, we urge the airline and greater travel industry to put the consumer first in an effort to avoid such disruption to travel plans," Ms Walsh said.
