Ryanair (FR, Dublin Int'l) has warned 100 pilots and 200 cabin crew based out of Ireland that they will face relocation to Poland or lose their jobs in October 2018 as strikes in the carrier's home market weaken its business there, Bloomberg has reported citing internal communication.

The airline also said that it will reduce its Dublin Int'l-based fleet from the current thirty B737-800s to twenty-four in Winter 2018/19.

The aircraft and the staff members will likely be relocated to Ryanair Sun (RR, Warsaw Modlin), Ryanair's Polish subsidiary currently operating leisure flights on behalf of local tour operators. The unit is mulling launching own scheduled operations in the future, ch-aviation understands from inside sources.

CEO Michael O'Leary said during the quarterly investor call that Ryanair would likely base the first B737-8-200s out of Germany or Austria, or place them in Poland with Ryanair Sun to cater to the growing local outbound tourism market. The Irish LCC expects the delivery of the first five units of the type in Spring 2019. According to the ch-aviation fleets module, it currently has 135 B737 MAX 200s on order directly with Boeing.

Regarding the carrier's long-term fleet plans, O'Leary said that Ryanair was tentatively interested in adding B737-10s after 2023. The carrier is involved in direct talks with both Boeing and Airbus, and is not currently negotiating any deals with the lessors. According to the ch-aviation fleets module, Ryanair owns 417 out of its 444 currently used aircraft.

The LCC would also look at adding second-hand B737 equipment in case of any airline bankruptcies in Europe which would free up the aircraft. O'Leary has long been predicting a collapse of Norwegian.

The developments come amid a wave of strikes in a number of key markets for Ryanair, including Ireland and the Mediterranean countries.

Labour issues have become a growing concern for Ryanair since September 2017, when the airline had to cancel thousands of flights due to the lack of available pilots. The crisis was, at the time, blamed on poor rostering. In January 2018, the airline reversed its long-standing policy and recognised pilot unions and has since been under growing pressure regarding pay and working conditions.

In response to the threat of layoffs in Ireland, the local union Forsa announced it would strike again on August 3.