Estonian Air Insider: Long and Difficult Row to Hoe
Former Estonian Air supervisory board member Heldur Meerits says the new collective agreement between Estonian Air management and pilots defused a tense situation but may not augur a happy future.
"The pilots organized a little performance with matches in a gas station, but the fact that the matches have been cleaned up does not mean that a happy future is guaranteed," he said on ETV.
Asked whether he felt the pilots had behaved irresponsibly by threatening strike with not just Estonian Air but the entire industry beset by problems, Meerits said the major threat to the airline's future was past for now and that people should not be reluctant to buy Estonian Air tickets.
"I myself would want to believe that if the government has already asked Brussels for permission for bailing out Estonian Air, no doubt it can be obtained. They wouldn't have made the request going out on a limb."
Meerits said the bone of contention in the case of the new collective agreement lay in how much work the pilots had to do at their current salary - estimated by 4,000 to 5,000 euros a month by the ETV journalist and confirmed by Meerits. "It seems that in this regard the pilots have already made concessions. But the pilots have said that seniority rankings are the most important - that those who were hired later will be the first to be fired. In other words, the pilots who have been working longer are guarding their jobs, especially if Estonian Air stays alive."