easyJet, Union Agree Terms For ex-Air Berliners

easyJet and the union representing former pilots and cabin crew at Air Berlin have reached an agreement on employment terms.

The ver.di union said the negotiated agreement includes “fair employment conditions” for ex-Air Berlin flight crews recruited by easyJet. Work experience at Air Berlin will be taken into account in individual’s terms at easyJet.

The UK airline agreed terms with Air Berlin last week to acquire part of the German carrier’s operations at Berlin’s Tegel Airport.

Under the deal, easyJet is expected to lease up to 25 Airbus A320s and employ about 1,000 ex-Air Berlin pilots and cabin crew to be based at Tegel. All new hires will be employed under existing collective bargaining agreements with the German union.

“We are very much looking forward to welcoming the former Air Berliners to easyJet,” the airline’s head of IR Stuart MacDonald said. “We look forward to continuing our strong partnership with ver.di, which has made an agreement like this possible.”

Ver.di official Holger Roessler said “We are pleased that easyJet agreed to negotiate and bind us to fair hiring conditions for former Air Berlin pilots and cabin crew. These include preferential and accelerated recruitment procedures and comparable income when working at easyJet.”

easyJet’s acquisition of part of Air Berlin is subject to regulatory approval, expected in December 2017.