A combination of TEAM and FLS will have a market share greater than any other single third-party aircraft maintenance supplier in Europe, FLS has said. The company is currently negotiating to buy the Aer Lingus maintenance subsidiary.

FLS vice-president Mr Steffen Harpoth, who has written to the TEAM unions asking for a meeting, said once merged the two companies would be well placed to grow further, "as peripheral players were marginalised by the consolidation process".

In a brochure accompanying the invitation to the unions, sent on Thursday, FLS says that being in partnership with it will give TEAM the opportunity of being one of the beneficiaries of consolidation in the industry. It is the first time that the Danish-based publicly-quoted company has given its views on the merger.

The company is currently undertaking due diligence in TEAM and this process should be completed by February 26th. Meanwhile, the unions and Aer Lingus management are teasing out issues involved in the State airline's £28 million offer to buy out the workers' letters of comfort.

Last night, union sources indicated that they would not meet Mr Harpoth at the moment as they were still engaged in talks with Aer Lingus and felt it would not be appropriate. However, sources did not rule out a meeting at some point in the future.

In the brochure to the unions, FLS says that TEAM will be an integral element in one of the major independent aircraft maintenance companies and one of the first "prime maintenance organisations" to emerge. "As airlines across Europe outsource an increasing proportion of their maintenance requirements and aircraft maintenance comes to be recognised as a separate business, TEAM, combined with FLS Aerospace, will be ideally positioned to gain market share," FLS says.

Some sources suggested last night that the glossy, well-produced brochure, which had been circulated to the unions and the media, was an attempt by FLS to raise its profile. Sources said FLS had felt it had been portrayed in some quarters as a third-rate operator.

In its brochure, the company argues that as part of FLS, TEAM will be able to increase the utilisation of its facilities, which will help improve its cost base and competitiveness. FLS Aerospace currently outsources significant volumes of component overhaul work which is within TEAM`S capability, it says.

FLS says that the arguments in favour of airlines out-sourcing their maintenance requirements are compelling. It estimates that outsourcing maintenance can cut an airline's maintenance costs by as much as 30 per cent.