Members of the Irish Air Line Pilots' Association (IALPA) have voted overwhelmingly in favour of accepting Labour Court proposals aimed at resolving its long-running pay dispute with Aer Lingus.
85% of IALPA members backed the pay deal on a turnout of 96%.
An electronic ballot opened on Thursday and closed this morning.
The IALPA executive had recommended acceptance of the Labour Court proposals, which include a 17.75% pay increase for pilots over a four-year period.
The union held a series of information meetings for members last week, ahead of the opening of the ballot.
President of IALPA Captain Mark Tighe said: "This is the greatest pay award seen in 30 years for Aer Lingus pilots.
"Throughout negotiations, management were seeking work practice changes to fund our pay award. However, no work practice changes were conceded in this pay dispute, nor will they be in the future.
"Companies making significant profits must ensure that their employees' remuneration reflects the success of the company, and their salaries are protected from inflation."
He added: "It is disappointing that Aer Lingus did not conclude an agreement with IALPA during the 22 months preceding the Labour Court recommendation.
"IALPA believes that the industrial action which affected our passengers was wholly avoidable."
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, Captain Tighe said it is clear that management at Aer Lingus have destroyed their relationship with their pilots and it remains to be seen if it can be rebuilt.
He said any efforts to restore the relationship will be gratefully received by pilots but they must be real and meaningful.
The pay deal reached with Aer Lingus ensures that all pilots will be 19.2% better off in two years time, he said, while all new pilots and those in the bottom 20% will be 30% better off.
He estimated the pay deal would cost the company under €30 million per year.
Captain Tighe said he could not speak for other unions at Aer Lingus, but it simply was not credible that profitable companies could not protect employees salaries against inflation.
In a short statement Aer Lingus said it "welcomed the outcome of the ballot which has accepted the Labour Court recommendation".
Read more: Other unions at Aer Lingus to meet to discuss pay deal
Industrial action by pilots at Aer Lingus led to the cancellation of 610 flights.
573 of the cancellations were pre-planned and there were a further 37 'on the day' cancellations.
After endorsing the proposed pay deal earlier this month, the IALPA executive suspended industrial action pending the outcome of the ballot.
A work-to-rule began on 26 June and ran for two weeks.
IALPA members also engaged in an eight-hour strike on 29 June.
The 610 flight cancellations impacted around 84,000 passengers.
As well as pay increases, the Labour Court recommendation also proposed structural changes to pay scales, the scrapping of a crewing agreement that allowed pilots to take more of their leave in the summer months, and the termination of a debt owed by pilots to the company as part of that agreement.
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The Irish Travel Agents Association welcomed the news.
CEO Clare Dunne said: "It is a good day for the travelling public and we are delighted with the decision by IALPA pilots to accept this pay deal.
"This is a very positive development for intending travellers and the tourism sector."
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New aircraft
Earlier this year, Aer Lingus lost out on the allocation of two new aircraft by its parent company IAG as a result of the uncertainty caused by the pilots pay dispute.
Four more planes are due to be allocated early next year and sources at Aer Lingus say they are hopeful of securing additional aircraft, now that the dispute has been resolved.
It is understood that if the airline does not receive the extra planes, it could be overstaffed in terms of pilot numbers and would have to look at its recruitment practices beyond 2025.
Aer Lingus has not yet said how much the pilots' pay dispute has cost the company but it is due to announce its latest set of financial results next week.
At that time, it may give an update on the financial impact of the industrial action which is understood to run into tens of millions of euro.
