OLDEST IRISH AMERICAN NEWSPAPER IN USA, ESTABLISHED IN 1928
Category: Archive

Aer Lingus U.S. routes under threat

February 17, 2011

By Staff Reporter

And newspaper reports have been suggesting that the additional losses could lead to cuts in the airline’s long haul services to the U.S., with flights to San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Orlando coming under particular pressure.
If these routes are scrapped or shelved it would mean that Aer Lingus would be serving only those cities that have been at the core of its U.S. operations over the years, they being New York, Boston and Chicago.
The airline, which parted ways with its chief executive Dermot Mannion a month ago, said revenues in January to March slumped 16 percent from the same time last year.
Passenger numbers during the first quarter fell 6.5 percent to two million.
News of the losses saw shares in Aer Lingus fall as much as 20 percent while the firm said it was continuing with cost cutting measures.
It also announced a reorganization of its senior management structure in an effort to meet the new challenges of what is a deteriorating outlook for the airline industry.
The firm’s chairman, Colm Barrington, took over the reins of chief executive after Mannion stepped down saying the airline needed “fresh ideas” to bring it into the future.
Barring ton said the the airline was struggling “against the backdrop of a severe deterioration in operating conditions,” but that it was “resolute in its objective of reducing operating costs and retaining a strong capital structure.”
In January, Aer Lingus rejected the latest hostile takeover approach from Irish rival Ryanair, saying that the Ryanair offer undervalued the company.
Some airline analysts say it is now increasingly unlikely that Aer Lingus will be able to maintain its independence in the longer term, and that even if it continues to reject Ryanair’s approaches, it will have to find another buyer.
Ryanair chief executive, Michael O’Leary, said last week that he would not making a third bid for the airline. Speaking to reporters in London, O’Leary also said he had no plans to sell Ryanair’s stake in Aer Lingus.
Meanwhile, the Aer Lingus annual report, which was released last week, showed that total pay for the company’s directors dropped to

Other Articles You Might Like

Sign up to our Daily Newsletter

Click to access the login or register cheese