Ryanair will offer pilots higher wages to prevent them seeking employment with Norwegian Air

Ryanair with new flights from RyggeRyanair.Photo Wikimedia Commons

Ryanair’s boss Michael O’Leary will offer pilots higher wages to prevent them from resigning and going to the Norwegian competitor.

 

It was stated at the General Assembly of Ryanair on Thursday, according to the news agency TT.

There should be a salary increase of 10,000 euros (just over 90,000 kroner) to pilots working at the company’s largest bases.

The wage increase comes on top of the $ 12,000 bonus ($ 109,000) that the company has offered to the pilots who drop their vacation plans in September and October.

Norwegian has announced earlier this month that they have recruited 140 pilots from Ryanair this year.

The airline announced on Monday of this week that the company has canceled around 2,000 flights over the next six weeks to increase punctuality.

The main reason must be the lack of pilots. The cancellations effect about 315,000 customers, but for about half of these, the company has already found alternative flights.

Daily canceled between 40 to 50 flights, which accounts for around 2 percent of the company’s total flights.

The Ryanair boss does not rule out that there will be more cancellations.

“O’Leary can not guarantee that there will be no more cancellations, but he promises at the same time that there will be no cancellations due to problems with the flight crew,” a spokesman said on Thursday.

O’Leary has admitted that the scandal with all the cancellations will have great consequences for the company’s reputation.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today