AER LINGUS chairman Colm Barrington has vowed to find a friendly investor who will take a majority stake in the airline to prevent Ryanair from bidding again for the company.
In an exclusive interview with The Irish Times, Mr Barrington, who took on the role of chairman on October 6th, said: "If they don't get us this time around, they won't get us again because I'm not going to stay as chairman for three years and have this hanging over me. We can get a new shareholder to ensure that Ryanair can never get to 51 per cent.
"You can't run a business with this sort of threat hanging over you all the time. I am not going to sit as chairman of Aer Lingus and have nothing happen, I can assure you of that."
Ryanair currently owns 29.8 per cent of Aer Lingus and last week tabled a €748 million offer to buy the airline.
Mr Barrington said Aer Lingus had been examining a number of "strategic options" for some time.
"I haven't seen any perfect partner for Aer Lingus yet that I'd be happy to support," he said. "There are possibilities, but there is still work to be done."
Air France-KLM has been tipped by analysts as a potential rival bidder. Mr Barrington said that from a "consumer point of view" and a "country point of view", Air France-KLM "would be a better option than Ryanair", but "I haven't got a call yet".
He didn't rule out a link-up with a private equity group. "It could be a short-term solution for independence but private equity can be fickle, too," he added.
He said that Aer Lingus would also look at issuing new shares in a bid to dilute Ryanair's holding.
Mr Barrington said he would engage in detailed talks with the Government and the Employee Share Ownership Trust, who between them own 40 per cent of Aer Lingus, once Ryanair's offer document is issued.
Mr Barrington said that Aer Lingus would also articulate its growth strategy in the near future. This is expected to include new bases in Britain and could involve a transatlantic route being launched outside Ireland, possibly from London Gatwick. "We will be telling the market soon," he said.
Mr Barrington hinted that Aer Lingus might drop its controversial fuel surcharge on transatlantic flights, which ranges from €75 to €110 each way.
Ryanair has guaranteed to axe the surcharge if its bid succeeds.
"If fuel remains below 50 bucks there's no need for it," Mr Barrington said. "I don't like surcharges and the sooner it goes the better, but fuel prices were at an unprecedented level."
Mr Barrington and Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion met Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey yesterday afternoon to outline their opposition to Ryanair's bid.
Mr Mannion said the meeting was "productive". He described Ryanair's offer as "a pathetic sum in the context of the €1.3 billion in cash on the group's balance sheet".
