Low-cost carrier Ryanair names Eddie Wilson as chief

Ryanair has appointed Eddie Wilson, the man in charge of the low-cost airline’s union negotiations over the past two years, as CE of its main airline business following an overhaul of the company’s structure. Wilson, a 22-year veteran of Ryanair, will become CE of the budget airline from September 1. He will report directly to Michael O’Leary who earlier this year took on a new role of group chief executive overseeing all of its brands. In his current job as chief people officer, Wilson has played a key role in the ongoing negotiations with unions since Ryanair agreed to recognise them in late 2017 after a rostering failure and staff shortage led to thousands of flight cancellations. But talks have progressed fitfully, and the airline has been hit with intermittent strike action over the past year over pay and conditions. Some UK-based pilots are due to go on strike for three days next week, from September 2, while members of its Spanish cabin crew union are holding 10 days of walkouts throughout September. However, Ryanair said it expected its schedule to operate largely as normal in the UK. It comes after a 48-hour strike by members of the British Airline Pilots Association’ last week which resulted in minimal disruption. In a memo to staff on Friday, O’Leary said that Wilson had “made a huge contribution” to Ryanair’s success since he joined the low-cost carrier in 1997. Over this period, Ryanair has grown from carrying 3m passengers a year to more than 150m.<br/>