Former Aer Lingus boss Mr Garry Cullen, who baled out of the State operator before the process of floating it began in earnest, has been appointed chief executive of the Caribbean airline LIAT.

He is now working in the tiny island of Antigua, far away from the humdrum world of share option plan negotiations and stock market roadshows.

Mr Cullen was less than two years at the helm when he pressed the ejector button at Aer Lingus. Piloting the flotation was always going to be difficult - market turbulence combined with a perceived lack of interest from the retail investor was going to make the process a bumpy one.

The word at the time was that he had no appetite for the heat of a stock market launch. The heat of the West Indies, however, proved to have an entirely different allure.

Moves to find a successor to Mr Cullen at Aer Lingus are ongoing and an appointment is expected in six or eight weeks. But while his replacement will face a tough task floating the airline on the stock exchanges of Dublin and London, Mr Cullen has a different job altogether.

Local media reports in the Caribbean say he has been hired to turn around a struggling regional operator, previously known as Leeward Islands Air Transport Services.

Mr Cullen, of course, is eminently qualified for the job. In the mid-1980s, he spent three years working as commercial manager of the Caribbean airline. He was also a key figure in Aer Lingus's recovery after it hit a bad patch in the early 1990s.

Mr Cullen was not available for comment from his office in Antigua last night.

While Aer Lingus may be offering a salary of more than £200,000, it cannot guarantee the sunny charms of the Caribbean. But if the flotation goes ahead next autumn, the temperature will surely rise.