Aer Lingus Should Merge – But Not With Ryanair

A former Aer Lingus chief executive has said the future of the airline can only be secured if it merges with another airline – as long as that airline isn't Ryanair.

Willie Walsh, who left the airline in 2005 and is now chief executive of British Airways, said Aer Lingus' future was now uncertain due to a variety of factors, and that the airline should consider a merger.

Speaking at the Jim Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick yesterday, Mr Walsh said: "Given what has happened to the economy and given the way Aer Lingus has struggled in recent times, I think you could make an argument that its future as an independent carrier is not that secure and maybe Aer Lingus does need to look at a relationship with some other carrier or a number of other carriers."

Since mid last year, Ryanair has made a number of bids for a take over of the State-run airline, all of which were rejected after interventions from the Competition Commission and assertions from the Aer Lingus Board that the Michael O'Leary owned budget airline had undervalued the company.

Mr Walsh said that he believed a merger with Ryanair would be "very difficult" although not impossible.

He added: "There are serious competition issues and there is a very significant overlap between Aer Lingus and Ryanair and the competition regulators will always struggle with that."

Coincidentally, today Ryanair has launched an attack on what it claims is "BAA airport monopoly" in the airport sector in London.

Ryanair said today that it would be drawing the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s attention to the way in which "the BAA monopoly has abused its power" by building facilities its airline customers "neither wanted nor needed."

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said today: "Competition is the only way to ensure that competition and the consumer interest is protected from the damage inflicted by years of the high cost BAA monopoly”.

(DW/KMcA)