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 Aer Lingus has announced the cancellation of an additional 122 flights through July 7 due to ongoing industrial action by pilots. This brings the total number of canceled flights to nearly 400 leading to indefinite work-to-rule and strike action by pilots. The work-to-rule means pilots are not working overtime or performing any out-of-hours duties. An eight-hour strike is planned for Saturday from 5:00 am to 1:00 pm local time.

Aer Lingus stated that due to the “indefinite nature” of the Irish Air Line Pilots’ Association (IALPA) pilots’ industrial action, it “must cancel” more flights up to July 7.

RTÉ reported that IALPA recommended additional strike action on Thursday. However, on Friday afternoon, Capt. Mark Tighe, president of the union, mentioned that Ireland’s Labour Court invited both parties in the dispute to return on Monday afternoon. “We are in the process of discussing that and that of course would have relevance to whether or not we escalate the industrial action,” he told Radio Ulster’s Evening Extra program. “I’m hoping now that they have noted the seriousness of the situation and that they’ll be able to apply their considerable expertise.”

Talks between the union and Aer Lingus to resolve the ongoing pay dispute broke down without a resolution on Thursday.

School Pupils ‘Slept on Floor’

A group of students and teachers from Shimna Integrated School in County Down, returning from a trip to Berlin, had their flight home canceled while they were at the airport. Teacher Luke McWatters said their 9:45 pm flight on Thursday was initially shown as delayed, and more than two hours after it was due to take off, they were informed it was canceled.

“Trying to ring through to Aer Lingus, I was on three different calls to three different agents who, every time I got to a certain way through, said: ‘Because you’re a group we can’t do anything for you – you have to contact group Aer Lingus, who don’t open until 9 am.’”

McWatters told the BBC’s Evening Extra program that he felt they had been “left high and dry,” with no offer of accommodation or food. The group ended up sleeping on the airport floor and was offered an alternative flight on July 1.

“At that stage, we made the call to try other airlines and split ourselves up as a group,” he added. Half of the group traveled to Edinburgh, while the other half caught a flight to Poland, with both groups booked on flights back to Ireland on Friday. McWatters said the support from Aer Lingus “fell very short of what you would expect from a major airline dealing with children.” The BBC has contacted Aer Lingus for a response.

‘Reasonable Pay Claim’

Capt. Tighe stated, “Passengers are extremely dear to us as pilots. Management doesn’t meet you; we do every day. We’ve been left in a position where our pay is being eroded, and all we’re looking to do is maintain our pay.”

Speaking to BBC News NI’s Good Morning Ulster program on Friday, Tighe said the union had offered to accept less than an inflationary rise to resolve the dispute. “We don’t believe anybody should be getting less than inflation, but yesterday, in an effort to resolve this, we said we would accept less than inflation.” However, he added, “We believe inflation is a very reasonable claim in this current time.”

Additional Strike Action?

IALPA had recommended to trade union Fórsa that the additional strike should be longer than the action planned for Saturday, according to RTÉ. If sanctioned, Fórsa will have to give seven days’ notice to Aer Lingus before pilots can stop work.

Aer Lingus has described the potential for further strike action as “entirely inappropriate given the request of the Labour Court this week that the dispute should not be escalated.” Donal Moriarty, Aer Lingus’ chief corporate affairs officer, said the airline is “willing to go back to the Labour Court on a formal joint referral basis.” He encouraged IALPA and Fórsa to “agree to this step.”

Flight Cancellations

All Aer Lingus UK regional flights, operated by Emerald Airlines, and Aer Lingus UK transatlantic flights to and from Manchester will operate as scheduled. A full list of canceled flights can be found on the airline’s website.

Aer Lingus Pilot Pay

Co-pilots can start out at about €36,000 (£30,400), with packages increasing based on actual flying hours. According to RTÉ, a captain at the top of the scale can earn about €287,000 (£242,000), which can take up to 26 years to achieve. Pay varies depending on whether flights are short-haul or long-haul.

What to Do If Your Aer Lingus Flight Is Canceled

Aer Lingus has said passengers with flights booked up to July 7 have several options. The airline will contact passengers whose flights are canceled directly via SMS, email, or through their travel agent to advise them of their options. These include changing the date of the booking free of charge, applying for a refund voucher for future travel, or getting a full refund for the flight’s value.

Passengers scheduled to travel until July 7 whose flights have not been canceled can also change their booking free of charge or apply for a refund voucher for future travel.

“We understand the frustration you must be feeling right now. Our teams are working hard to minimize disruption as much as possible,” Aer Lingus said.

 A total of 135 batches of capsules are being recalled due to a defect that could lead to cardiac arrest, according to officials.

Last week, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals recalled 114 batches of potassium chloride extended-release capsules, while American Health Packaging, on behalf of BluePoint Laboratories, recalled 21 batches of the same capsules.

The voluntary recall was issued due to the capsules’ failed dissolution, which can cause elevated potassium levels, or hyperkalemia, as announced by the companies and posted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Hyperkalemia can result in an irregular heartbeat, potentially leading to cardiac arrest, the companies explained.

Glenmark’s recall was issued last Monday, followed by BluePoint’s recall the next day. Both sets of capsules are manufactured by Glenmark, as reported by the Miami Herald.

“To date, the firm has not received any reports of hyperkalemia or serious adverse events from spontaneous sources related to this recall,” the companies stated.

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The capsules, used to treat low potassium levels (hypokalemia), are packaged in bottles of 100 and 500.

The FDA has posted the recalled batch numbers for Glenmark and BluePoint on its website.

“Consumers with Potassium Chloride Extended-Release Capsules subject to the recall should consult with their physician or healthcare provider before discontinuing use,” the companies advised. 

“Consumers should also contact their physician or healthcare provider if they have experienced any issues potentially related to this medication.”

 A federal judge stated on Friday that Visa and Mastercard could likely handle a settlement “substantially greater” than the proposed $30 billion settlement with merchants, which she rejected last week.

U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie of the Eastern District of New York made this assessment in an 88-page opinion, released just three days after she rejected the preliminary $30 billion settlement.

The settlement aimed to lower and cap interchange fees, or swipe fees, paid by over 12 million merchants for Visa and Mastercard transactions.

Judge Brodie described the estimated $6 billion in annual savings for merchants as “paltry” compared to the estimated $100 billion in fees paid to Visa and Mastercard in 2023.

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“Without evidence of Visa’s and Mastercard’s profitability, the court cannot say with certainty that defendants can withstand a greater judgment; however, the evidence strongly suggests that they could withstand a substantially greater judgment,” Brodie wrote.

The antitrust litigation over swipe fees, which began in 2005, could go to trial if the card issuers and merchants fail to agree on a new settlement that meets the judge’s approval.

“While we are disappointed with the judge’s decision, we continue to believe that direct resolution with merchants is the best way forward and are evaluating all options as the case proceeds,” Visa told FOX Business in a statement.

“The U.S. payments ecosystem is the most advanced in the world, and our focus is on maintaining the security, innovation, rewards, and access to credit that are critical to American consumers and small businesses that power our economy,” Visa added.

Mastercard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Following the ruling, Mastercard previously expressed disappointment, stating that the settlement would have encouraged competition and provided significant value to businesses in managing their card acceptance activities.

Under the rejected settlement terms, card issuers would have reduced the typical 1.5% to 3.5% swipe fee by 0.04 percentage points for three years, capped fees for five years, and given merchants more leeway to impose surcharges.

Brodie argued that the proposed changes fell short of the “best possible” recovery as they kept fees significantly higher than they would be without the alleged antitrust violations and still required merchants to comply with the “Honor All Cards” rule, obligating them to accept all Visa and Mastercard cards or none.

Many merchants, as well as trade groups like the National Retail Federation, opposed the settlement.

 The parent company of Redbox, known for its iconic red kiosks at grocery stores that sell and rent DVDs, has filed for bankruptcy after months of financial difficulties.

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (CSSE) disclosed in a filing that it is burdened with nearly $1 billion in debt, owing millions to several entertainment companies, including the BBC and Sony Pictures, as well as to retailers like Walmart and Walgreens.

Filings indicate that the company incurred about $325 million in debt following its acquisition of Redbox in 2022 from private equity firm Apollo Global Management. The goal was to transform Redbox into an entertainment conglomerate by combining the DVD rental business with its free streaming services, such as Crackle, formerly owned by Sony.

However, these plans were thwarted by dual Hollywood strikes that limited the production of new content and the declining demand for physical DVD rentals, which even led rival Netflix to exit that segment of its business last year.

Previously, Deadline reported that Redbox had not paid employees for a week, and medical benefits had been suspended. Filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy could help address these issues if the court in Delaware approves its plans.

The company’s publishing arm, known for producing the popular self-help books that were once a global phenomenon, is not affected by the bankruptcy filing of its entertainment unit.

Redbox kiosks have expanded to about 34,000 locations across the US, primarily at grocery and drug stores. Since its launch in 2002, Redbox has rented out 1 billion discs at prices cheaper than cable, according to its website.

 The intricate three-way deal announced late Sunday night to split Spirit AeroSystems between Boeing and Airbus, returning significant manufacturing facilities to Boeing after two decades, was orchestrated by Spirit AeroSystems CEO Pat Shanahan.

Just four months after Boeing declared its intention to reacquire most of this crucial supplier, Shanahan secured the agreement through direct negotiations with the senior leadership of the aviation industry’s two biggest rivals.

Shanahan, a former top Boeing executive and acting Secretary of Defense under President Donald Trump, was appointed Spirit CEO late last year and was already considered a strong candidate to replace Dave Calhoun as Boeing CEO.

As an engineer and a manufacturing problem solver, Shanahan would be “an inspired choice,” according to veteran aviation analyst Adam Pilarski of consulting firm Avitas, who commented in March.

After securing the Spirit agreement, Shanahan, 62, who spends weekends at his home in Seattle, is perhaps the leading candidate to take over when Calhoun steps down later this year.

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In an exclusive interview Monday with The Seattle Times, Shanahan deflected but didn’t deny interest when asked if he might become Boeing’s CEO.

“It’s not my place to comment on what Boeing might or might not do,” Shanahan replied. “I’ll be keeping my eye on getting this deal done at Spirit.”

Shanahan took control of Wichita, Kansas-based Spirit in October after the previous CEO, Tom Gentile, was fired. At the time, Spirit was losing money, deeply in debt, and facing repeated revelations of quality defects.

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A few months later, a midair blowout of a fuselage panel on a Boeing 737 MAX — a fuselage built in Wichita last September, before Shanahan took over — triggered an ongoing crisis at Boeing regarding its quality management.

Boeing’s response included accepting delivery of MAX fuselages at the final assembly plant in Renton only if they were largely complete and defect-free. Unfinished work and defects requiring rework had been disrupting the assembly process in Renton and contributed to the critical installation error that caused the Alaska blowout.

Work at Spirit was drastically slowed, and every fuselage is now carefully inspected before leaving Wichita.

“Our teams have made critical improvements to the quality management system over the past six months,” Shanahan said Monday. “Those improvements will continue.”

“We are making enduring changes, mistake-proofing several critical operations,” he added.

Shanahan contends that the future for both companies will be more secure when Boeing takes back in-house those Spirit units that manufacture the entire MAX fuselage and the forward fuselage of all its other jets, along with other major Boeing components.

“Bringing Boeing and Spirit together will enable greater integration. … It’ll bring together their safety and quality systems and make them better,” Shanahan said. “The new organization will be faster and more nimble.”

“This is a fabulous industry,” he concluded. “I’m proud of playing the role of making it stronger and better.”

Analysts caution against expecting a quick fix. For its part of the deal, Boeing pays $4.7 billion in stock, or $37.25 per share, and also assumes Spirit’s net debt of about $3.6 billion.

Meanwhile, Spirit will pay Airbus $559 million to offload its money-losing facilities making A350 and A220 parts.

Financial analysts were skeptical Monday in their assessment of the deal’s impact on Boeing.

Rob Stallard of Vertical Research Partners summarized it as “good for Spirit, good for Airbus, and less good for Boeing.”

U.S. prices remained stable in May, while consumer spending saw a moderate increase, potentially bringing the Federal Reserve closer to cutting interest rates this year. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index showed no change in May, following a 0.3% rise in April, according to the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis on Friday. Over the year through May, the PCE price index rose 2.6%, slightly down from a 2.7% increase in April.

Economists polled by Reuters had predicted the PCE price index would remain unchanged for the month and rise 2.6% year-on-year. Inflation is easing after a surge in the first quarter, influenced by 525 basis points of rate hikes by the U.S. central bank since 2022, aimed at cooling domestic demand. However, inflation is still above the Fed’s 2% target.

Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the core PCE price index inched up 0.1% in May, following a revised 0.3% increase in April. The core PCE price index had previously been reported as a 0.2% rise in April.

Core inflation rose 2.6% year-on-year in May, marking the smallest increase since March 2021, after a 2.8% rise in April. The Fed monitors the PCE price measures for monetary policy. Sustained monthly inflation readings of 0.2% are needed to bring inflation back to the target.

The Fed has kept its benchmark overnight interest rate in the 5.25%-5.50% range since last July. Despite a more hawkish recent outlook from policymakers, financial markets anticipate the Fed may begin easing in September.

Consumer spending, which represents over two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, increased by 0.2% in May after a 0.1% rise in April, the report showed. Factors like inflation fatigue, higher borrowing costs, slower wage growth, and decreasing savings are restraining spending.

Consumer spending significantly slowed in the first quarter, limiting economic growth to a 1.4% annualized rate, down from a 3.4% pace in the fourth quarter. Second-quarter growth estimates are mostly below 2%.