The Irish Airline Pilots' Association (IALPA) has said it is seeking a meaningful pay increase for Aer Lingus pilots.
IALPA president Captain Mark Tighe was speaking on his way into Labour Court talks today aimed at a resolving a pay dispute at the airline.
Aer Lingus management and pilots attended the hearing after talks at the Workplace Relations Commission in February ended without agreement.
Both sides will return to the Labour Court next week.
"We're here today to seek a meaningful pay increase for Aer Lingus pilots who have not had a pay increase since 2019," Captain Tighe said.
In December last year, an independent tribunal at Aer Lingus recommended a set of proposals that included a 12.25% pay increase.
For pilots, it would have meant an effective increase of 8.5%.
Members of IALPA voted to reject the deal however saying it did not reflect the impact of inflation and the sacrifices made by pilots to sustain Aer Lingus during the Covid pandemic.
IALPA, which is a branch of the Fórsa trade union, is seeking pay increases of more than 20%.
Last week, the airline said it looked unlikely that it would be allocated a new Airbus aircraft by its parent company IAG due to the ongoing pay dispute.
Asked about the threat to future growth, Captain Tighe said they believe that Aer Lingus and the IAG group has a "very robust future" with great plans ahead for the development of the airline.
Aer Lingus has said that all other employee groups have already agreed terms similar to those proposed by the pilot pay tribunal.
The airline is also disputing IALPA's claim that its members have not received a pay increase since 2019, as increments have continued to be paid to pilots each year since 2019 allowing them to continue to move up the pay scale.
