Il futuro di Aer Lingus: dopo Ryanair, ci prova IAG


EC approves IAG bid for Aer Lingus

The European Commission (EC) has approved International Airlines Group’s (IAG) acquisition of Aer Lingus, subject to the carriers surrendering five slot pairs at London Gatwick Airport.

Detailing its conclusions on Tuesday, the Commission said it required “significant concessions” on routes from London to Dublin and Belfast for the tie-up to go ahead.

“The Commission had concerns that the merged entity would have faced insufficient competition on several routes,” the EC said, identifying Dublin-London, Belfast-London and Dublin-Chicago as the main competition pinch points for the deal.

To appease the regulator, IAG offered to give up five daily Gatwick slot pairs to its rivals. Two of these five daily slots must be used to serve Dublin, while a third is reserved for Belfast flights. The remaining two pairs can be used for either Dublin or Belfast.

The Commission also insisted that Aer Lingus must continue to accept rival airlines’ connecting passengers at Amsterdam, Dublin, Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester and Shannon.

“These commitments adequately address all competition concerns identified by the Commission. The Commission therefore concluded that the proposed transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or a substantial part of it,” the Commission concluded.

IAG issued a brief statement, confirming the remedies and welcoming the ruling. This marks another major milestone for the takeover, following Ryanair’s recent confirmation that it is willing to sell its Aer Lingus shares to IAG.

atwonline
 
British Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG) has confirmed its deal to acquire Aer Lingus after Ryanair formally agreed to sell its 30% share in Aer Lingus.
Ryanair agreed in July to sell its 29.8% Aer Lingus stake to IAG, but said it would not issue a formal acceptance of the offer until mid-August, forcing IAG twice to extend the share offer deadline. Ryanair’s acceptance was a condition of IAG’s bid for the Irish carrier, and the offer is now wholly unconditional as all the conditions have been satisfied.
IAG chief executive Willie Walsh said: “We’d like to welcome Aer Lingus into IAG. It will remain an iconic Irish brand with its base and management team in Ireland but will now grow as part of a strong, profitable airline group. This means new routes and more jobs benefitting customers, employees and the Irish economy and tourism."
By 13.00 on Aug. 18 IAG had received valid acceptances of the offer for 95.77% of the existing issued share capital of Aer Lingus. The offer will remain open until Sept. 1 for any Aer Lingus shareholders who have not yet accepted.
Aer Lingus will apply for cancellation of its share listings and trading of Aer Lingus shares on the Irish Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange, expected to become effective on Sept. 17. Any outstanding shares will then be acquired compulsorily and the airline re-registered as a private company.


atwonline
 
Aer Lingus Group will become part of International Airlines Group.

​BA's parent company IAG has received confirmation of the valid acceptance of its Offer for Aer Lingus in respect of all the Aer Lingus shares held by the Ryanair Group. Ryanair’s acceptance was a condition of the Offer which is now wholly unconditional as all the conditions have been satisfied.

IAG chief executive Willie Walsh said: “We’d like to welcome Aer Lingus into IAG. It will remain an iconic Irish brand with its base and management team in Ireland but will now grow as part of a strong, profitable airline group. This means new routes and more jobs benefitting customers, employees and the Irish economy and tourism”.
 
Aer Lingus eyes Eastern expansion through Qatar Airways

Aer Lingus (EI, Dublin Int'l) is planning to commence operations into the Middle East and possibly into Asia in partnership with Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad Int'l) the Irish carrier's chief executive Stephen Kavanagh has said.

Speaking to Arabian Business on the sidelines of the ongoing IATA AGM in Dublin, Kavanagh said negotiations were currently ongoing between the sides.

“We will be looking at connecting to the Qatar hub either on our metal or on Qatar metal,” he said. “Now that we have not just a shareholder but also a partner with a competitive network, in that regard, I think it's only a matter of time.”

Aer Lingus is wholly-owned by the International Airlines Group (IAG) in which the Qataris currently have a 15.01% shareholding.

Kavanagh believes access to Doha Hamad Int'l and Qatar Airways' vast network will allow Aer Lingus to not only expand into Asia and Oceania, but also to better compete with Turkish Airlines (TK, Istanbul Atatürk) as well as Emirates (EK, Dubai Int'l) and former shareholder, Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi Int'l).

“We felt we were bereft of opportunities in the Middle East because of the cornering of world traffic by Etihad and Emirates," he said. “Now, we have a stakeholder and partner with Qatar Airways and it is clear that there are natural and significant opportunities to grow the network, not just ourselves but also via codeshares.”

ch aviation
 
IAG firms up two A330 options for Aer Lingus

The IAG International Airlines Group (IAG) has announced it is converting two A330-300 options into firm orders for its Aer Lingus (EI, Dublin Int'l) unit. These A330 options were first announced in September 2014.

The aircraft will be delivered in 2017 and will be used to facilitate the expansion of the Irish carrier's transatlantic network.

Aer Lingus currently operates four A330-200s and four A330-300s which will increase to a total of ten by the end of this year.

ch aviation
 
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