Ryanair predicts Lingus rescue
November 11, 2009
Budget airline Ryanair is a part owner of Aer Lingus with a stake of about 30 percent.
At times it has shown interest in taking a controlling interest in the former Irish flag carrier.
Whether it ever does or not, Ryanair might have to help keep Aer Lingus aloft as a party to a bailout.
Michael Cawley, Ryanair's deputy chief executive, has indicated that his company's interest in Aer Lingus was "waning by the day."
Ryanair, he said, was "very unlikely" to make a bid. He told RTE, however, that a bailout of Aer Lingus was "only a question of time."
Ryanair, he said, would examine a bailout if the Irish government - which owns about 25 percent of Aer Lingus - asked it to do so.
Ryanair, meanwhile, has recorded an 80 percent increase in profit for the first half this year, largely as a result of falling fuel costs during the period.
This story appeared in the issue of November 18-24, 2009
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