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  easyJet

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  U2/EZY (UK) | EC/EJU (Europe) | DS/EZS (Switzerland)

  Airline Type:

  Low-Cost Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Berlin Brandenburg Airport, Geneva Airport, London Gatwick Airport, London Luton Airport, Milan Malpensa Airport

  Year Founded:

  1995

  CEO:

  Johan Lundgren

A letter sent from easyJet's French pilots to the airline's CEO has been leaked with the contents being made public. The letter makes stinging allegations about the airline, its management, and its future in light of the crippling delays and cancellations that are taking a daily toll on the carrier's operations and crew.

Another day, another problem

In what is already proving to be a problematic summer season for easyJet, the airline has been dealt yet another blow as it grapples with ongoing operational issues and staff shortages. The trade union that represents French pilots employed by the airline has written a blistering letter to the airline's Chief Executive officer, Johan Lungren, making a number of allegations.

In the letter, a copy of which was leaked to inews, the union warns that the low-cost giant stands to suffer an exodus of customers this summer. The threat follows several difficult weeks recently for the airline, the latest culmination of which were thousands of passengers being left stranded by the cancellation of hundreds of flights during last week's UK school half-term break and the Platinum Jubilee bank holiday weekend.

The letter goes on to accuse the airline's management of presiding over "unprecedented chaos", canceling viable flights, and suffering what it describes as "operational meltdowns" after its executives failed to heed warnings that the carrier could not cope with surging demand for flights this summer.

Scathing attack on management

The document, written by the easyJet branch of the French SNPL pilots' union, continues its withering attack on the management holed up at the airline's Luton Airport headquarters. It claims that its members believe that the ongoing disruption to the airline's operations this summer has yet to peak – a situation it describes as a "frightening prospect."

The pilots' letter accuses senior executives of being fooled into believing they could deliver a summer schedule with fewer flight crew, cabin crew, and flight planning officers. The letter adds that operational employees, who were aware of the issues but were not listened to, are now witnessing the consequences.

The four-page document cites various issues currently plaguing the budget carrier, including the cancellation of multiple flights as a direct result of a lack of crew - often with just a few hours or even just minutes before departure.

The deeply critical letter is unrelenting in its scathing attack on how the giant airline group is being run. The union alleges that in some cases, managers at the airline's Integrated Control Centre (ICC) at Luton, which controls the operations over easyJet's entire network, had often waited until the very last minute to cancel early morning flights despite knowing the night before that no crew was available.

In its stinging critique of the airline's leadership, the SNPL accuses the top managers of being "penny wise and pound foolish" by letting too many staff go during the pandemic - actions which are now "reaping a whirlwind" by leaving thousands of passengers frustrated and disappointed with the airline. The union believes that many once-loyal passengers will not return to the carrier as a result.

Operational incapabilities

The letter claims that due to staff shortages, the ICC is too stretched to monitor operations in real-time adequately and is often lagging hours behind real-time happenings around the network. The letter adds that the union has evidence of "some cancellations which were avoidable: crew ready to go, serviceable aircraft, passengers ready, but with ICC not having the local picture."

In a stark warning to the airline's top brass, the SNPL pilots state in their letter that they had raised the issue of the effect of stress on aircrew caused by the pandemic and subsequent disruption, calling for extra support and saying that the mental health of the airline's aircrew is now at stake.

The pilots said the problems at the airline were leaving staff as demoralized as they had been during the mass grounding of flights caused by the pandemic. In a list of requests to management, the union asks for reinforced mental health support to be made available due to the stress and disruption of recent weeks, adding that mental health, following an emotional roller coaster, is at stake.

Closing out its unsparing and caustic correspondence, the pilots claim that,

"Literally hundreds of employees in distress have fed back how chaotic our operations have become recently, to unprecedented levels. We are actually convinced that our disruption hasn’t even peaked yet and frankly this is a frightening prospect.”

Indications of wider discontent

easyJet currently has around 500 French-based pilots operating from airports including Paris Orly, Lyon, and Toulouse. However, sources within the airline have advised that dissent is rife across the airline and that the complaints and concerns being put forward by the SNPL are reflected across the airline.

In response to the letter issued by the French pilots, a statement issued by easyJet said,

"We remain in continuous dialogue with its unions and would be responding directly to the SNPL. We are absolutely focused on our daily operation and continue to monitor this very closely and will not hesitate to take action as needed. Delivering a safe and reliable operation for our customers and crew is the airline's highest priority.

EasyJet continues to operate up to around 1,700 flights and carries around a quarter of a million customers every day. However, the ongoing challenging operating environment continues to have an impact which is resulting in a small proportion of flight cancellations."

The airline also claims that it continues to offer an extensive mental health service for staff that has remained in their positions since the pandemic.

Stormy skies ahead?

The budget carrier has been facing a torrid few weeks of late. Not only have acute staff shortages led to hundreds of flights being canceled, often at short notice, but IT outages, weather-related issues, and air traffic control strikes have also added to the general misery.

EasyJet is not alone in its turmoil, as other carriers have also been experiencing significant disruption across their networks in recent months. British Airways and Wizz Air operations have been particularly badly affected in the UK, but others are also seeing the fallout from letting too many staff go during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Indeed, it seems that unions are becoming increasingly irate at airline managers over a broader spectrum, with several airlines across Europe currently being threatened with strike action by aircrew over pay and working conditions.

EasyJet's CEO had previously said that the airline hoped to see its passenger numbers return this summer to close to pre-pandemic levels of 2019. However, like all airlines, easyJet has struggled to recruit again after the onset of the pandemic resulted in mass redundancies amongst cabin and flight crew.

Simple Flying reported recently on just how significantly staff shortages are affecting the airline. In May, we reported that the airline was reducing the seating capacity on its fleet of Airbus A319 aircraft from 156 to 150 passengers, which means that flights operated by this aircrfat type can be dispatched with three rather than four cabin crew.

These are troubling times, not just for easyJet, but for the wider commercial aviation industry as a whole. The high hopes that travel demand would bounce back and save the industry after two tumultuous years are rapidly being tarnished. The rampant optimism prevalent just earlier this year is quickly being replaced with the reality that it is likely to be some time before 'normal' service is resumed.