Catering staff at Irish state airline Aer Lingus have been warned they could face job cuts or the outsourcing of their operation following an upcoming review of the business.
A spokeswoman for the airline, based at Dublin airport and serving 35 destinations in Ireland, the UK, Europe and the USA, said that the carrier's 270 catering staff were advised last week that a full review of their division would begin soon.
Outsourcing the catering division, which provides in-flight meals to Aer Lingus's 6.5 million annual passengers, or downsizing the operation will be among the options to be considered.
The spokeswoman said that catering was not a core activity and there were no plans to develop it in the future by taking on contracts for other airlines.
She added that in-flight catering requirements have diminished since 11 September. Customer research and the squeeze on business-class travel have already prompted the airline to replace meals on trays with high-class deli-bags, which require fewer people to prepare.
Aer Lingus is expected to announce an annual operating profit of €64m (£43m) today, reversing an operating loss of €50.4m (£34m) in 2001 when bookings slumped after the 11 September terrorist attacks. Since then, the group has slashed its workforce by one-third and cut costs by 24%.
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 20 - 26 March 2003