The Government must decide this month on its preferred privatisation method for Aer Lingus if a public offering is to be achieved by mid-year, chief executive Dermot Mannion said today.
"If there's going to be a June transaction we must get a decision by the end of March," Mr Mannion said.
Dermot Mannion, CEO Aer Lingus
Speaking to the media in Dublin, Mr Mannion said a lengthy delay between a Government decision and actual privatisation increased the potential for a downturn in market conditions and could make negotiations on fleet purchases more difficult.
Aer Lingus's management favours part-privatisation via an initial public offering (IPO) rather than a trade sale to fund fleet expansion. The State carrier plans to invest €2 billion in modernising and expanding its fleet over the next six years.
But it is up to the government, the airline's main shareholder, to decide how and when privatisation will go ahead. It announced last year it would sell off some of the company and is studying recommendations.
"We'll have an outcome on it in the coming weeks," a spokesman for the Department of Transport said. He added that the Government had not set a date despite one newspaper report that it would make an announcement on March 22nd.
"The longer the period of time between a definitive decision and the date of the transaction the more there is a risk of other extraneous factors jumping up which might have an adverse effect on the transaction," Mr Mannion said.
Asked if delays could affect any deals between Aer Lingus and either Boeing or Airbus on new planes, he added: "It could do. I can't be definitive on that at the moment because negotiations are still going with the manufacturers but it would be unhelpful to that process, yes."
Mr Mannion earlier said the airline had no preference between Boeing and Airbus for its new generation long-haul aircraft.
The Government hopes unions and management will have resolved their dispute over pensions and work practices before it makes a decision on privatisation.
Members of Siptu, the main union at Aer Lingus, voted last week to ballot for industrial action over the privatisation plan. They also want agreement on how Aer Lingus plans to address a deficit of up to €250 million in their pension scheme.
Mr Mannion said he hoped intensive talks he was holding with staff this week would help to allay most concerns.
"I don't think it's going to come to industrial action," he said.