Ryanair CE Michael O'Leary broke months of media silence Tuesday to defend his decision to recognise unions for the first time in 32 years, saying it would allow his airline to expand and help to keep staff costs down. In his first interview since Friday's surprise decision to accept unionisation to stave off a string of Christmas strikes, O'Leary said the move was his idea and that he would not step down. His action knocked more than 10% off the company's shares. But he also warned unions that he would not be a soft-touch and if they put forward unreasonable demands he would simply shift planes and jobs to other jurisdictions. "This is not a ruse. This is serious," O'Leary said of the decision, which he said was "in many respects my idea" and which he ran past the company's board of directors Thursday night. <br/>
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Ryanair has said it will recognise cabin crew unions and hold meetings in the new year, as it prepared to start its first ever talks with pilots’ unions in Dublin Tuesday. The airline announced last week that it would recognise pilots’ unions in a bid to head off strikes planned in the run-up to Christmas. The move marked a dramatic shift after decades of refusing to negotiate with unions and came after groups of pilots around Europe called strikes. Ryanair’s announcement that it will also recognise cabin crew unions comes after renewed focus on its treatment of lower-paid staff. Crew have been warned of disciplinary proceedings for missing sales targets on scratchcards, while staff on Italian bases were threatened with collective sanctions if any member joined a strike called last week. <br/>
Senior Ryanair executives told pilots in London last week that the company "grew too fast" and lost the trust of its pilots, but was working hard to restore it. Ryanair shares have fallen over 10% since it announced Friday it would recognise trade unions for the first time, a move that averted the first pilot strike in the company's history. Pilots have demanded an overhaul of Ryanair's system of contracts and collective bargaining and some have spoken of a toxic atmosphere at the airline. The relationship between the airline and pilots became "very inflamed" and "very tense" in recent weeks, COO Peter Bellew told a meeting of Ryanair pilots at Stansted Airport near London. "We don’t comment on rumour or speculation," a Ryanair spokeswoman said, declining to comment on the accuracy of the quotes. <br/>
Ryanair sees chances for new bases in France and Scandinavia thanks to its move to recognise unions, the carrier's CE Michael O'Leary said Tuesday. "Clearly one of the upsides of engaging in union recognition from our point of view is that it opens up growth opportunities for us in France and Scandinavia, countries that were previously closed to us because we felt it was going to involve mandatory union recognition," O'Leary said. He said Ryanair could base up to 50 planes in France and that the airline had been in touch with pilot unions in France and Denmark already. "If anything it accentuates the Ryanair model," he said. <br/>
A German union representing flight attendants criticised Ryanair Tuesday, saying the airline was refusing to meet with them to discuss pay and conditions. The UFO union said it was reaching out to the European Cabin Crew Association to determine how to increase pressure on Ryanair. The airline reversed its longstanding refusal to recognise pilots' unions last week, saying it had invited several for talks because it wished to "avoid any threat of disruption to its customers and its flights from pilot unions during Christmas week." UFO chairman Alexander Behrens welcomed Ryanair's willingness to talk to pilots, but warned it could be an attempt to avert strikes in several European countries over the busy Christmas season. Behrens claimed flight attendants' pay is only marginally above minimum wage. <br/>
Ryanair management met pilot union representatives for the first time in its 32-year history Tuesday, but the Irish union said industrial action was still possible unless the airline provided written confirmation that it was recognising the union. Ryanair chief people officer Eddie Wilson said his meeting with union representatives was positive. But the IMPACT/IALPA trade union said it was "disappointing" that no written confirmation was given. The union said a recognition agreement had to be agreed by midday Thursday and warned its mandate for strike action could still be implemented "in the absence of a timely agreement." Ryanair agreed to recognise unions for the first time in a bid to avoid a Christmas strike. Its management is due to meet representatives of German union VC Wednesday and Portuguese union SPAC Thursday. <br/>
Air Berlin’s unit Niki can keep its valuable runway slots while Austria’s Transport Ministry examines its insolvency filing, the airspace regulator said amid growing interest in the carrier from potential bidders. Niki filed for insolvency last week after Lufthansa, which is buying other parts of Air Berlin, scrapped plans to buy Niki, grounding the airline’s fleet and stranding thousands of passengers. Niki’s workers’ council chief said Dec 15 the sale had to be agreed within 7 days as its runway slots, or take-off and landing rights, would be lost after that point. But a spokesman for airspace regulator Austro Control said no such deadline existed and the slots, among Niki’s most attractive assets, would remain untouched for as long as the ministry was looking into the airline’s insolvency filing. <br/>
Southwest Airlines is joining the movement to restrict smart bags with non-removable lithium batteries, following similar guidelines announced by Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines in early December. Effective Jan 15, 2018, Southwest will no longer accept smart bags if the lithium battery cannot be removed, according to new rules released by the carrier Dec 15. Southwest will allow smart bags with a removable lithium battery to be transported into the cabin as carry-on baggage, and the battery may remain installed. “[But] if checking a smart bag is required at any time for any reason, the customer will need to remove the battery,” Southwest said. The customer would then have to keep the battery on their person, or in carry-on baggage, in the main passenger cabin. <br/>
Ultra LCC Volaris Costa Rica was granted a foreign air carrier permit by the US DoT Dec 19, opening the Central American subsidiary of Mexico City-based ULCC Volaris to begin flights to the US. Volaris Costa Rica plans to launch round-trip flights to the US March 15, 2018, and has already initiated sales of 4 routes from San Jose, Costa Rica to Los Angeles International Airport, New York JFK and Washington Dulles. All of the proposed US flights are pending govt approval. None of the routes will be direct from Costa Rica, however. Volaris Costa Rica launched operations in Dec 2016, and according to CE Fernando Naranjo, planned to operate between 18 and 22 aircraft during its first 3 years. <br/>