The pilots of Irish airline Aer Lingus are voting on the possibility of a 17.75% pay increment from Thursday to Tuesday, July 23rd, a proposal forwarded by the Labour Court and endorsed by Ialpa’s executive last week. This increase will be implemented over the undertime of four years. As the ballot occurs, a well-regarded hotel in Dublin discloses that it registered a €55,000 deficit to its room revenue due to recent flight cancellations.
The Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (Ialpa), a subdivision of Fórsa labour union, is heavily engaged in the voting process. Amid the escalating situation, Paul Gallagher, the top boss at Buswells Hotel found in Dublin 2 on Molesworth Street, opposite Leinster House, says the financial deficit equated to roughly half a week’s usual trade for the hotel.
He pointed out that the disruptions primarily deterred those coming in from European routes. Prospective hotel guests were hesitant due to the uncertainty surrounding their return flights. This deterred them from visiting Dublin for a short holiday, leaving the hotel with cancellations amounting to €55,000 over a span of three weeks. Gallagher highlighted though his hotel only comprises 67 rooms, if the same losses were to be calculated across all Dublin hotels, the figure could approach a staggering €20 – €25 million lost trade.
In an ordinary week, the Buswells Hotel typically records a room turnover of around €110,000, indicating that the losses were equivalent to half a week’s trade. Gallagher shared that the hotel found it challenging to fill the gap left by this lost trade as most of it had been cancelled at very short notice.
Following a dispute over pay, Aer Lingus was forced to cancel 573 flights from June 26th. This occurred due to the adoption of a work to rule approach by the pilots, casting a gloomy shadow over Ireland’s hospitality sector. On top of the hit from recent flight cancellations, customers are also of the opinion that they are not getting sufficient value for their money.
Paul Donnellan, proprietor of Gemelle’s Restaurant situated in Galway’s heart, noted that despite the robustness of visitor numbers from North America this summer, the European patron count has seen a decline. This downturn has been attributed to recent flight cancellations with Aer Lingus. Donnellan pointed out that not all North American tourists flew Aer Lingus, mitigating potential losses, but the situation with European visitors posed a significant challenge.
Moreover, Donnellan highlighted the restaurant’s present circumstances hung heavy with a 30% slump in revenue when compared to figures before the pandemic hit. This decrease can be attributed to the ongoing staffing issues causing the restaurant to operate at half capacity. He revealed that the restaurant’s operations are currently at 50% of their 2019 performance and lower footfalls mirror this change.
Donnellan lamented on the inability to fully utilise the restaurant’s space, particularly the upstairs section due to a lack of necessary staff. However, if staffing conditions improved, consumer demand would certainly fill the space. He stated emphatically that on Quay Street, along a mere 100m stretch home to 22 hospitality venues, there is a similar need for labour. Every establishment is actively seeking staff to meet the demand.