Aer Lingus delays results after crew vote

The former state airline said it would not publish full results until an unspecified date, and would, instead, issue a brief trading update today.

Aer Lingus, which has fended off two hostile bids by Irish rival Ryanair, wants to reduce its annual operating costs by e97m (87.7m) by shedding up to a fifth of staff.

The proposed plan to stop it burning through its cash reserves has been accepted by unions representing pilots, middle management and by some ground staff and cabin crew.

But cabin crew represented by the IMPACT union rejected the plan on Friday, and maintenance staff will only publish the result of their ballot today. Aer Lingus said it was determined to realise the planned cuts in any case.

"These savings are vital to realign the cost base of the company and position Aer Lingus for a successful future," it said in a statement.

Aer Lingus is expected to announce a 2009 operating loss of e87.7m, in-house broker Goodbody said.

If it does not get agreement from unions, Aer Lingus has

said it would push ahead with an alternative plan to streamline the company by imposing more redundancies, some on a compulsory basis.

"The company's board of directors will meet to formally approve the steps that will now be taken to achieve these cost savings," it said.

Aer Lingus's shares – of which Ryanair, the government and employees control 70 per cent between them – fell 1.6 per cent in late trade to

e0.60, reversing earlier gains and trading at less than half the e1.4 Ryanair offered in late 2008.

Airlines are reeling from aviation's worst year on record, during which demand dropped faster than capacity could be trimmed, but workers

across the industry have lost patience with cost-cutting programmes.

Deutsche Lufthansa and British Airways have been two of the biggest European carriers hit by strikes this year.