A REQUEST by Ryanair to have its case for a takeover of Aer Lingus heard by an Oireachtas committee has been granted.
Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary will address the Oireachtas Committee on Transport in Leinster House next Thursday. Committee chairman Frank Fahey TD revealed yesterday that Aer Lingus representatives had also been invited to the meeting, but the committee was still awaiting a response.
Mr Fahey said that, at Ryanair’s request, Mr O’Leary had been invited to make a presentation.
“There will be many issues members will want to raise with Mr O’Leary following his last appearance at the committee,” Mr Fahey added.
“In particular, we will want to know how he proposes to guarantee competition through his proposal to run Aer Lingus as an independent airline, how he hopes to get the support of the unions, and Esop’s agreement to sell its share of the airline to Ryanair and the possible impact of a takeover or merger on other airlines and regional airports.”
Mr Fahey said that the committee saw regional airports, and the need for regional airlines such as Aer Arann to continue, as critically important and a key component in the successful implementation of government regional policy.
Meanwhile, Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion yesterday reiterated his opposition to the takeover.
He said that Aer Lingus was not for sale and there was unity among the board, management and staff at the airline.
“The reality of competition in the Irish market is that it is even more intense today between these two carriers than it was two years ago,” he added.
On the RTÉ Radio 1 programme This Week, Mr Mannion said the last time the European Commission looked at the issue, there 22 routes out of Dublin where a combined Aer Lingus- Ryanair would have a monopoly.
That figure had increased to 27, because six carriers had withdrawn from the Irish market because of the difficult financial situation.
“So this notion that it is credible to find another competitor who is going to come and take any slots that a so-called Ryanair-Aer Lingus monopoly might throw up, has no credibility,” he added.
That was the problem for Ryanair and why the airline had been seeking to cause confusion in recent days, Mr Mannion added.
