Europe's biggest low-cost airline promised better pay and working conditions for pilots to stop them leaving the company. Ryanair wrote to its 4,200 pilots about their concerns. It offered them salary increases and loyalty bonuses. One pilot said this was, "too little, too late". He said there was a lack of basic benefits for pilots, who had to pay for water, coffee, meals and even their own uniform. He added: "People have just had enough of the toxic atmosphere."
Ryanair is trying to repair the damage done to its image after a mistake with pilot holidays. This mistake led to 20,000 cancelled flights because of a lack of available pilots. This affected 700,000 passengers. An industry analyst said the airline had disrespected pilots. He said Ryanair was "being forced to backpedal" and meet pilots' pay demands. Ryanair is confident that pilots will stay. It said: "We are a very secure employer in a very insecure industry."