Icelandair rejects unions’ account as misleading and unfair

Icelandair’s chief executive and chairman have called the picture of labour negotiations presented in a letter from three aviation unions “misleading and unfair”, mbl.is reported. The letter was sent to pension funds on Friday.

The union leaders said talks had moved slowly, with little progress towards an agreement. They said Icelandair had stressed the need for permission to lease foreign crews and asked whether the company planned to move part of its operations abroad.

In a statement, chief executive Bogi Nils Bogason and chairman Guðmundur Hafsteinsson said Icelandair wanted to reach agreements with all the country’s unions. They said any agreements must be responsible and reflect the company’s position and long-term competitiveness. Wage increases in Iceland had been considerably higher than in key competitor countries, they said, and Icelandair could not accept changes that added costs it could not bear without weakening its international competitiveness.

“Willingness to negotiate does not mean that one side accepts the other’s demands,” the statement said. “It means both sides seek a realistic outcome they can sustain.”

The company said it did not intend to move jobs abroad. Its core business, headquarters and main operations would remain in Iceland, although international operations could grow alongside them. Icelandair said such growth was intended to strengthen the group and create business opportunities, not weaken its Icelandic operations.

The statement said Icelandair had had international operations for years, including a subsidiary in Estonia for about two decades. That operation had not replaced growth in Iceland, the company said, but had helped improve its competitiveness and create conditions for further growth. It also rejected the suggestion that its expansion abroad was intended to circumvent Icelandic collective agreements.