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The Irish government has pledged to protect Aer Lingus's lucrative landing slots at Heathrow Airport in the likely event of the sale of its stake in the airline. British Airways owner, IAG's, latest bid for the State's 25.1pc share in the Irish airline could net around €325m. Aer Lingus planes at Dublin Airport. Image by Artur Widak/PA Wire. 04:27 UTC Aer Lingus (EI, Dublin Int'l) has obtained slots at Manchester Int'l for unspecified long-haul routes and plans to base one A330 and three A321-200NX (LR) s out of the English airport, according to Airport Coordination Limited.
As we reported last month, Aer Lingus has applied to the ACL slot coordinator for more slots to fly new routes from Manchester Airport. It is now understood that Aer Lingus will set up a subsidiary company called Aer Lingus UK. There will be two Airbus A330-300 aircraft (EI-ELA and EI-EDY) placed on the UK aircraft register along with two Airbus A321-253NX aircraft which are due for delivery in February and March 2021.
According to filings with the US Department of Transportation (DOT), Aer Lingus has applied for rights to fly from Manchester to New York JFK, Boston and Orlando. They plan to operate a daily service to JFK year-round, daily summer service to Orlando with a four times per week in the winter. Boston will operate as a daily service for the summer season. It is expected that these will be operated on a code-share basis with British Airways as they have no long haul routes from UK airports outside of London Heathrow. It is likely that the Airbus A330's will be used on routes to Orlando. This would fill the void left by the collapse of Thomas Cook in 2019. Virgin Atlantic are currently the only operator on these routes from Manchester.
It is also understood that Stobart Air who operate the Aer Lingus Regional flights will transfer some of their aircraft onto the UK aircraft register and operate on the Stobart Air UK AOC as they continue to fly routes from Belfast City Airport. The first two aircraft expected to change registrations are EI-FMJ and EI-FSK.
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PUBLISHED: 10:45, 26 January 2015 | UPDATED: 10:50, 26 January 2015
- IAG has offered €2.55 a share for Aer Lingus, valuing the firm at £1billion.
- The owner of BA and Iberia is keen to expand in Heathrow even though the airport is nearly full already.
- The three airlines would control 56% of landing slots between them.
- But the deal could be scuppered by the Irish government or Ryanair
The owner of British Airways today launched a £1billion takeover bid for Aer Lingus in an attempt to secure valuable take-off and landing slots at Heathrow Airport.
IAG, which currently owns BA and Iberia, has offered a deal worth €2.55 a share, or €1.36billion in total, to buy Ireland's national airline.
The company is keen to secure more space at the UK's biggest airport, which is almost full to capacity – meaning that landing slots are now worth millions of pounds.
But the deal could be scuppered by the Irish government, which may block the move for political reasons, or by Ryanair, whose combative boss Michael O'Leary has long been trying to buy Aer Lingus.
The company's chief executive, Willie Walsh, was previously in charge at Aer Lingus before moving across the Irish Sea and joining BA.
As well as the potential for efficiency savings by bringing Aer Lingus into a larger group, IAG is keen to expand its grip on Heathrow, where it is already by far the largest operator.
BA controls more than half the landing slots at the airport, according to the latest available figures, and if it were combined with Aer Lingus and Iberia, IAG would have 56 per cent of all flights coming into and going out of Heathrow.
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f the three airlines joined forces, they would account for 51.6 per cent of passengers passing through the airport.
Because Heathrow is running at almost full capacity, the only ways for an airline to expand its offerings at the airport are to trade in landing slots – worth several millions of pounds each – or to buy up a rival.
Aer Lingus is currently the fourth busiest operator at the airport, behind BA, Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic, running up to 22 flights a day between Heathrow and Dublin.
Heathrow could expand if a third runway is built, but the issue is politically controversial and no decision will be made on the matter until after the general election in May.
Analysts suggested today that the IAG bid was likely to be accepted – but the Irish government could still step in to veto any deal.
Aer Lingus is 25 per cent state-owned, despite the Irish government's promise to privatise it fully as part of the EU bailout deal struck in 2010.
Politicians are keen to safeguard the airline's 3,900 workers, most based in Dublin, as well as ensuring that there is no decrease in the number of flights between Ireland and London.
Deputy prime minister Joan Burton said yesterday:
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What we will want to do as a government, and what's absolutely important, is to protect these slots and the connections of direct flights in and out of Ireland.
Politicians are keen to safeguard the airline's 3,900 workers, most based in Dublin, as well as ensuring that there is no decrease in the number of flights between Ireland and London.
Deputy prime minister Joan Burton said yesterday:
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What we will want to do as a government, and what's absolutely important, is to protect these slots and the connections of direct flights in and out of Ireland.
The country's opposition has called on the government to rule out any sale, while trade union IMPACT warned that a takeover would pose ‘significant risk' to the Irish economy as a whole.
Another potential hurdle is Ryanair, Ireland's budget short-haul carrier, which owns a 30 per cent stake in Aer Lingus following a series of unsuccessful attempts to buy the airline outright.
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Chief executive Michael O'Leary, known for his outspoken manner and aggressive attitude towards his customers, said last week he was open to considering a bid for Ryanair's stake.
Aer Lingus shares rose by 3.8 per cent this morning, peaking at €2.44, while shares in IAG were up by 3.5 per cent.
