Ryanair sends emails to former pilots 'begging' them to come back
Ryanair is writing to former pilots “begging” them to return to the embattled airline, Telegraph Travel can reveal.
The Irish carrier was accused of mismanagement when it was forced to cancel around 700,000 flight bookings because of “messing up” its pilots’ holiday rostering. Critics said the airline was suffering a pilot shortage after a number of captains and first officers had deserted to rival carrier Norwegian.
Chief executive Michael O’Leary initially denied this was the case before admitting the airline needed to hire more flight crew. Last week the airline said it had enlisted 45 in one day, taking its total number of pilots hired in 2017 to more than 860.
However, in an email seen by Telegraph Travel, the carrier’s flight operation manager Elaine Griffin has been appealing to former staff to return to the airline for more money and better working conditions.
“I hope you are keeping well since you left Ryanair,” the email read. “My name is Elaine Griffin and I am the a new flight ops bases manager in Ryanair. We are currently a team of four which is doubling to eight as part of Ryanair’s drive to significantly transform the way we reward and interact with our pilots, improve their working environment and career development.”
A source at the airline told Telegraph Travel the carrier was “begging” former staff to come back.
Ryanair was threatened with a mass walkout from pilots over conditions and the way in which the scores of cancellations were handled. O’Leary was compelled to apologise to his pilots after initially accusing them of being “precious about themselves” and “full of their own self-importance”.
Last month Norwegian said 140 Ryanair pilots had joined it so far in 2017. Now, it looks like the Irish airline is attempting to woo them back.
“You may or may not be aware of the significant changes that are taking place at Ryanair,” the email continued. “We have increased Captain and FO [First Officer] pay rates by approximately 20 per cent and significantly increased resources in pilot rostering, crew control, bases management and training.
“We still have much work to do but we have already made significant changes and plan many more for 2018 (including a new annual leave system/process) as we strive to make Ryanair the employer of choice for 737 pilots in Europe.
“If you are interested in having a conversation about returning to Ryanair, we would be delighted to hear from you.”
The airline highlights the return of former head of operations Peter Bellew “to lead this transformation”. The current Malaysia Airlines chief executive said a return to Ryanair was due to “love for [the] country”.
A statement released by Malaysia Airlines said his decision to leave was “unexpected”.
Ryanair is yet to respond to a request for comment.
Ryanair might yet have to adopt a similar strategy to its cabin crew, after one member told Telegraph Travel that a group was planning to carry out a strike before jumping ship to easyJet.
