Il futuro di Aer Lingus: dopo Ryanair, ci prova IAG
- Autore Discussione FlyKing
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INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES GROUP (IAG), the parent company of British Airways and Iberia, Spain’s flag carrier, has made a third offer to buy Aer Lingus, an Irish competitor. The offer is worth €2.55 ($2.86) a share, which values the Irish airline at €1.36 billion.
Aer Lingus's board rejected two lower bids last year. However, it seems minded to recommend the new deal, assuming it wins the backing of its two major shareholders: the Irish government, which holds a 25.1% stake, and Ryanair, a low-cost rival, which owns 29.8%. That may not be straightforward; the government can expect stern opposition at home. Unions are already predicting that a takeover could put 1,200 jobs in jeopardy—a quarter of the airline's workforce. There are also concerns that Ireland might lose connectivity through London Heathrow, Europe’s busiest international airport.
That is because Aer Lingus’s most-prized assets are its 23 Heathrow slots. This makes it the fourth-largest airline operating at the airport. Deloitte, a big accounting firm, reckons a pair of slots at Heathrow is worth as much as £25m-30m ($37.5m-$45m), because Heathrow operates at near-full capacity. Around 1,300 planes land or take off there every day, so it is little wonder that new slots are so coveted. Although plans to expand the airport by building a third runway have been mooted for many years, a decision has been painfully slow in coming. An announcement on the matter is due later in 2015, but final approval may still be several years away.
IAG feels it must continue to expand, particularly at Heathrow, to compete with Middle Eastern “super carriers” such as Emirates and Etihad. These have few capacity restraints at their home hubs. Such competition has also prompted European aviation—at least the non-budget sort—to coalesce around three major airline groups: IAG, Lufthansa and Air France-KLM. Of these, IAG seems to be doing the best job of integrating its various parts. In particular Iberia, a bloated state carrier which suffered years of losses, has been turned around following some ruthless restructuring, including around 4,500 job cuts. In the third quarter of 2014, IAG posted a profit of €900m, of which British Airways contributed €607m and Iberia €162m. In contrast, Air France-KLM, the biggest of the three airline groups, suffered a year of perpetual profit warnings and strikes as it attempted to restructure. It remains gloomy about its short-term prospects. Lufthansa, too, has had to deal with strikes as it drives through cuts and launches a budget carrier. Competition from the Middle East may eventually put paid to all of Europe’s big three. But IAG, at least, seems to be best placed to be the last carrier standing.
Fonte:economist
Aer Lingus's board rejected two lower bids last year. However, it seems minded to recommend the new deal, assuming it wins the backing of its two major shareholders: the Irish government, which holds a 25.1% stake, and Ryanair, a low-cost rival, which owns 29.8%. That may not be straightforward; the government can expect stern opposition at home. Unions are already predicting that a takeover could put 1,200 jobs in jeopardy—a quarter of the airline's workforce. There are also concerns that Ireland might lose connectivity through London Heathrow, Europe’s busiest international airport.
That is because Aer Lingus’s most-prized assets are its 23 Heathrow slots. This makes it the fourth-largest airline operating at the airport. Deloitte, a big accounting firm, reckons a pair of slots at Heathrow is worth as much as £25m-30m ($37.5m-$45m), because Heathrow operates at near-full capacity. Around 1,300 planes land or take off there every day, so it is little wonder that new slots are so coveted. Although plans to expand the airport by building a third runway have been mooted for many years, a decision has been painfully slow in coming. An announcement on the matter is due later in 2015, but final approval may still be several years away.
IAG feels it must continue to expand, particularly at Heathrow, to compete with Middle Eastern “super carriers” such as Emirates and Etihad. These have few capacity restraints at their home hubs. Such competition has also prompted European aviation—at least the non-budget sort—to coalesce around three major airline groups: IAG, Lufthansa and Air France-KLM. Of these, IAG seems to be doing the best job of integrating its various parts. In particular Iberia, a bloated state carrier which suffered years of losses, has been turned around following some ruthless restructuring, including around 4,500 job cuts. In the third quarter of 2014, IAG posted a profit of €900m, of which British Airways contributed €607m and Iberia €162m. In contrast, Air France-KLM, the biggest of the three airline groups, suffered a year of perpetual profit warnings and strikes as it attempted to restructure. It remains gloomy about its short-term prospects. Lufthansa, too, has had to deal with strikes as it drives through cuts and launches a budget carrier. Competition from the Middle East may eventually put paid to all of Europe’s big three. But IAG, at least, seems to be best placed to be the last carrier standing.
Fonte:economist
Ryanair CEO: BA could decrease Heathrow-Dublin if Aer Lingus takeover is successful
British Airways could look to reduce its London Heathrow-Dublin service should International Airlines Group (IAG) be successful in its proposed takeover of Aer Lingus, according to Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary (Irish Independent, 23-Jan-2015). Mr O’Leary said: “Very little of the connecting business today through Heathrow actually goes with Aer Lingus, it's all BA - who have six flights a day between Heathrow and Dublin.” Mr O’Leary added: “I think that would be one of the casualties of an IAG takeover of Aer Lingus. I think BA would grab back their six Heathrow slots and use them for something else while notionally committing that they will maintain their Aer Lingus slots. But there would be a reduction to and from the London market, which wouldn't necessarily be good.”
CAPA
British Airways could look to reduce its London Heathrow-Dublin service should International Airlines Group (IAG) be successful in its proposed takeover of Aer Lingus, according to Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary (Irish Independent, 23-Jan-2015). Mr O’Leary said: “Very little of the connecting business today through Heathrow actually goes with Aer Lingus, it's all BA - who have six flights a day between Heathrow and Dublin.” Mr O’Leary added: “I think that would be one of the casualties of an IAG takeover of Aer Lingus. I think BA would grab back their six Heathrow slots and use them for something else while notionally committing that they will maintain their Aer Lingus slots. But there would be a reduction to and from the London market, which wouldn't necessarily be good.”
CAPA
Aer Lingus/BA deal could create opportunities for new transatlantic flows
Much of the recent discussion about the potential takeover of Aer Lingus by IAG (owners of British Airways, Iberia and Vueling) has been about the Irish government’s concern about needing to retain connectivity between Dublin (and Cork) and London Heathrow Airport. At present Aer Lingus has 23 pairs of slots at Heathrow and during the upcoming summer season it will use 13 of them on flights to and from Dublin, four on flights to and from Cork, and three each on flights to and from Belfast City and Shannon. This winter it is using only 21 pairs of slots with Dublin being served no more than 11 times per day.
Apart from Aer Lingus’ 11 daily flights, British Airways operates an additional eight daily flights bringing the total from Heathrow to 19, all of which are operated either by A319s or A320s. At Gatwick Aer Lingus offers between five and six daily flights and competes with Ryanair which provides an additional five daily flights. At Stansted Ryanair offers eight daily flights with a further three operating from Luton. The most intense competition is now happening at London City Airport where CityJet (between seven and nine weekday flights) is up against British Airways Cityflyer (five daily flights) and Flybe (four daily flights). Both British Airways and Flybe only began their Dublin flights from London City at the end of October 2014. Finally, at London Southend, Flybe is operating three weekly flights with its own Q400s.
Passenger numbers between London and Dublin peaked in 2004 at just over 4.5 million. Between 2008 and 2010 demand fell by almost 20% (!) when Ireland went into deep recession. However, latest figures from the UK CAA show that since 2012 the market has picked up again, growing by 10%. Last year’s passenger figures of 4.1 million are almost identical to those first achieved as along ago as 1998 (and before the full impact of the Ryanair revolution).
It seems unlikely that regulators would allow, or that a semi-independent Aer Lingus would want, to drop the Heathrow routes and just hand over the slots to British Airways. Aer Lingus is the fourth biggest operator at LHR with 23 departures per day, beaten only by British Airways (around 350), Virgin Atlantic Airways (34) and Lufthansa (25). So acquiring Aer Lingus would increase BA’s share of Heathrow departures (based on last summer’s schedules) from around 52% to just under 56%.
However, that assumes that regulators (such as the EU) would simply approve the takeover without requiring any slots to be given up. That’s unlikely. With 21 daily flights each way between them in summer, the Heathrow-Dublin route would be a monopoly to that one of six London airports. While there is plenty of competition in the London market as a whole, the Heathrow flights are the only services which connect with a true London hub where Dubliners can fly on to all the other places in the world they need to get to. According to schedule data for last summer (September) the Heathrow-Dublin airport pair is the 13th most flown route within Europe with 143 weekly flights each way. The other 12 routes are all domestic (four in Turkey, three in Norway, two each in France and Italy, and one in Germany) making Heathrow-Dublin the most flown international airport pair in Europe. Without speculating on the merits or downside of BA’s dominance (let’s face it they would probably be unconcerned if IAG was anything but an airline), the situation on the Heathrow route will probably be considered politically unacceptable – even though plenty of other airlines in Europe – Air France at Paris, Lufthansa at Frankfurt, KLM at Amsterdam etc – have far greater dominance of their hubs (and no choice of alternative airports).
So, with such competition issues probably requiring external intervention (with unknown consequences), maybe BA’s interest is less in what it might gain at Heathrow…and far more about what it and Aer Lingus can do in Dublin.
Dublin – a growing transatlantic hub
In recent years Aer Lingus has again been focussing on exploiting Dublin’s position as an alternative hub to Heathrow for transatlantic passengers (something IAG boss Willie Walsh knows all about as he was Aer Lingus CEO 2001-05). The airline’s traffic statistics for 2014 reveal that while short-haul Aer Lingus Mainline passengers were down 1% to 8.44 million, Aer Lingus Regional passengers were up 18% to 1.31 million, and long-haul passengers (Canada and US) were up 20.6% to 1.32 million. As a result, in terms of RPKs (Revenue Passenger Kilometres) North American operations accounted for 44.7% of Mainline capacity in 2014, up from 39.0% in 2013.
In summer 2014 Aer Lingus offered non-stop flights from Dublin to five US destinations; Boston, Chicago O’Hare, New York JFK, Orlando and San Francisco, as well as Toronto in Canada. San Francisco services resumed in April 2014 after a five-year hiatus, while Toronto flights were launched for the first time in the same month. The importance of the US market at Heathrow should be recognised. Our comparison of Heathrow and Gatwick networks last week revealed that from Heathrow there were more than twice as many seats to the US as any other country in 2014. These transatlantic services are clearly a critical part of BA’s business model; perhaps it can find a way of using Dublin as a secondary hub for North American routes, thereby freeing up some slots at Heathrow for other new services to fast-growing Asian markets. More likely IAG/Aer Lingus will just deepen the model of UK regional-Dublin feed – after all many of these cities (Liverpool, Birmingham etc) have all had their connecting services to Heathrow sacrificed due to slot congestion.
To help feed Aer Lingus’ North American services there has been an increased focus on connections to UK regional airports. Since 2011 new UK services from Dublin have been started (or resumed) to Aberdeen, Bournemouth, Bristol, Isle of Man, Newcastle and London Southend.
As a result, last summer, Dublin’s US flights could connect with 12 non-London UK airports (Aberdeen, Birmingham, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Isle of Man, Jersey, Manchester and Newcastle). This compares with just seven UK regional airports that BA serves from Heathrow (Aberdeen, Belfast City, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Newcastle). This is an increase of two over summer 2010, since when BA has added service to Belfast City and Leeds Bradford.
If we consider all airlines (not just the home based carrier) then Dublin was connected last summer to 19 UK regional (non-London) airports, only beaten among hub airports by Amsterdam, which has direct flights to 21 UK regional airports. Next comes Paris CDG with 13 routes followed by Copenhagen with seven and Brussels and Frankfurt with six each.
Four UK regional airports have direct service to Dubai (Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle) the same number as are connected with SWISS’ main hub in Zurich (Birmingham, Bristol, Jersey, Manchester). Other airports such as Barcelona, Madrid and Rome are connected to several UK regional airports (12 in Barcelona’s case) but these are not natural hubs for passengers to consider except maybe for flights to Latin America via Madrid.
Ryanair and Etihad Airways could profit; but what about the Irish government?
There are growing signs that Aer Lingus’ management believes that the latest offer from British Airways should be recommended to its shareholders which includes the Irish government (25.1%) and Ryanair (29.8%) – or 54.9% of shares between them (which could make for some colourful/interesting meetings and discussions in the days and weeks ahead). Another interested party is Etihad Airways, which currently has a little 4.1% stake in Aer Lingus. Given its challenging involvement in other European carriers (notably airberlin, Alitalia and Darwin Airline), the Abu Dhabi-based carrier will probably be very happy to sell and make a tidy profit – a rare thing in the airline business.
http://www.anna.aero/2015/01/28/aer...ail&utm_term=0_ecdbf41674-17e58cefa4-86828017
Much of the recent discussion about the potential takeover of Aer Lingus by IAG (owners of British Airways, Iberia and Vueling) has been about the Irish government’s concern about needing to retain connectivity between Dublin (and Cork) and London Heathrow Airport. At present Aer Lingus has 23 pairs of slots at Heathrow and during the upcoming summer season it will use 13 of them on flights to and from Dublin, four on flights to and from Cork, and three each on flights to and from Belfast City and Shannon. This winter it is using only 21 pairs of slots with Dublin being served no more than 11 times per day.
Apart from Aer Lingus’ 11 daily flights, British Airways operates an additional eight daily flights bringing the total from Heathrow to 19, all of which are operated either by A319s or A320s. At Gatwick Aer Lingus offers between five and six daily flights and competes with Ryanair which provides an additional five daily flights. At Stansted Ryanair offers eight daily flights with a further three operating from Luton. The most intense competition is now happening at London City Airport where CityJet (between seven and nine weekday flights) is up against British Airways Cityflyer (five daily flights) and Flybe (four daily flights). Both British Airways and Flybe only began their Dublin flights from London City at the end of October 2014. Finally, at London Southend, Flybe is operating three weekly flights with its own Q400s.
Source: UK CAA.
Passenger numbers between London and Dublin peaked in 2004 at just over 4.5 million. Between 2008 and 2010 demand fell by almost 20% (!) when Ireland went into deep recession. However, latest figures from the UK CAA show that since 2012 the market has picked up again, growing by 10%. Last year’s passenger figures of 4.1 million are almost identical to those first achieved as along ago as 1998 (and before the full impact of the Ryanair revolution).
It seems unlikely that regulators would allow, or that a semi-independent Aer Lingus would want, to drop the Heathrow routes and just hand over the slots to British Airways. Aer Lingus is the fourth biggest operator at LHR with 23 departures per day, beaten only by British Airways (around 350), Virgin Atlantic Airways (34) and Lufthansa (25). So acquiring Aer Lingus would increase BA’s share of Heathrow departures (based on last summer’s schedules) from around 52% to just under 56%.
However, that assumes that regulators (such as the EU) would simply approve the takeover without requiring any slots to be given up. That’s unlikely. With 21 daily flights each way between them in summer, the Heathrow-Dublin route would be a monopoly to that one of six London airports. While there is plenty of competition in the London market as a whole, the Heathrow flights are the only services which connect with a true London hub where Dubliners can fly on to all the other places in the world they need to get to. According to schedule data for last summer (September) the Heathrow-Dublin airport pair is the 13th most flown route within Europe with 143 weekly flights each way. The other 12 routes are all domestic (four in Turkey, three in Norway, two each in France and Italy, and one in Germany) making Heathrow-Dublin the most flown international airport pair in Europe. Without speculating on the merits or downside of BA’s dominance (let’s face it they would probably be unconcerned if IAG was anything but an airline), the situation on the Heathrow route will probably be considered politically unacceptable – even though plenty of other airlines in Europe – Air France at Paris, Lufthansa at Frankfurt, KLM at Amsterdam etc – have far greater dominance of their hubs (and no choice of alternative airports).
So, with such competition issues probably requiring external intervention (with unknown consequences), maybe BA’s interest is less in what it might gain at Heathrow…and far more about what it and Aer Lingus can do in Dublin.
Dublin – a growing transatlantic hub
In recent years Aer Lingus has again been focussing on exploiting Dublin’s position as an alternative hub to Heathrow for transatlantic passengers (something IAG boss Willie Walsh knows all about as he was Aer Lingus CEO 2001-05). The airline’s traffic statistics for 2014 reveal that while short-haul Aer Lingus Mainline passengers were down 1% to 8.44 million, Aer Lingus Regional passengers were up 18% to 1.31 million, and long-haul passengers (Canada and US) were up 20.6% to 1.32 million. As a result, in terms of RPKs (Revenue Passenger Kilometres) North American operations accounted for 44.7% of Mainline capacity in 2014, up from 39.0% in 2013.
In summer 2014 Aer Lingus offered non-stop flights from Dublin to five US destinations; Boston, Chicago O’Hare, New York JFK, Orlando and San Francisco, as well as Toronto in Canada. San Francisco services resumed in April 2014 after a five-year hiatus, while Toronto flights were launched for the first time in the same month. The importance of the US market at Heathrow should be recognised. Our comparison of Heathrow and Gatwick networks last week revealed that from Heathrow there were more than twice as many seats to the US as any other country in 2014. These transatlantic services are clearly a critical part of BA’s business model; perhaps it can find a way of using Dublin as a secondary hub for North American routes, thereby freeing up some slots at Heathrow for other new services to fast-growing Asian markets. More likely IAG/Aer Lingus will just deepen the model of UK regional-Dublin feed – after all many of these cities (Liverpool, Birmingham etc) have all had their connecting services to Heathrow sacrificed due to slot congestion.
To help feed Aer Lingus’ North American services there has been an increased focus on connections to UK regional airports. Since 2011 new UK services from Dublin have been started (or resumed) to Aberdeen, Bournemouth, Bristol, Isle of Man, Newcastle and London Southend.
As a result, last summer, Dublin’s US flights could connect with 12 non-London UK airports (Aberdeen, Birmingham, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Isle of Man, Jersey, Manchester and Newcastle). This compares with just seven UK regional airports that BA serves from Heathrow (Aberdeen, Belfast City, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Newcastle). This is an increase of two over summer 2010, since when BA has added service to Belfast City and Leeds Bradford.
Source: Innovata / Diio Mi for August 2014.
If we consider all airlines (not just the home based carrier) then Dublin was connected last summer to 19 UK regional (non-London) airports, only beaten among hub airports by Amsterdam, which has direct flights to 21 UK regional airports. Next comes Paris CDG with 13 routes followed by Copenhagen with seven and Brussels and Frankfurt with six each.
Four UK regional airports have direct service to Dubai (Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle) the same number as are connected with SWISS’ main hub in Zurich (Birmingham, Bristol, Jersey, Manchester). Other airports such as Barcelona, Madrid and Rome are connected to several UK regional airports (12 in Barcelona’s case) but these are not natural hubs for passengers to consider except maybe for flights to Latin America via Madrid.
Ryanair and Etihad Airways could profit; but what about the Irish government?
There are growing signs that Aer Lingus’ management believes that the latest offer from British Airways should be recommended to its shareholders which includes the Irish government (25.1%) and Ryanair (29.8%) – or 54.9% of shares between them (which could make for some colourful/interesting meetings and discussions in the days and weeks ahead). Another interested party is Etihad Airways, which currently has a little 4.1% stake in Aer Lingus. Given its challenging involvement in other European carriers (notably airberlin, Alitalia and Darwin Airline), the Abu Dhabi-based carrier will probably be very happy to sell and make a tidy profit – a rare thing in the airline business.
http://www.anna.aero/2015/01/28/aer...ail&utm_term=0_ecdbf41674-17e58cefa4-86828017
AG bid for Aer Lingus encounters political resistance
Aer Lingus (EI, Dublin Int'l) management's decision to support a revised International Airlines Group (IAG) takeover bid has encountered opposition from unions as well as elements in the Irish government. Last week, Irish Prime minister Enda Kenny was reported by the Times to have declined to back the bid in the Irish parliament.
Despite the board's decision to recommend the IAG's revised offer - its third - Transport minister Paschal Donohoe said that price would not be the only factor being taken into consideration adding that a "very careful examination" would be undertaken before any decision would be made.
"There are important considerations to be taken into account in addition to price," he said.
Concerns centre around a possible 1'200 job cuts as well as Aer Lingus' longterm future within the confines of the IAG insofar as its intercontinental Dublin Int'l hub operations are concerned. Critics have also claimed that the IAG's sole interest in the carrier focusses on its twenty-four London Heathrow slots which, at present, are used for flights to Belfast City, Dublin, Shannon, and Cork. Accountancy firm Deloitte has valued the slot pairs at between EUR770million (USD870.1million) and EUR925million (USD1.045billion) - more than half the EUR1.36 billion (USD1.54 billion) price that the IAG has offered for Aer Lingus.
In a bid to placate government and public concerns as a whole, the IAG said Aer Lingus would operate as a separate business with its own brand, management, and operations. In addition it would continue to provide connectivity to Ireland in line with IAG's goals of boosting both investment and tourism in the country. The IAG's offer is contingent on an agreement with 29.8% shareholder Ryanair (FR, Dublin Int'l) and government, which holds 25.1%.
According to the Irish Times, in the event of a sale, Dublin would want a clause allowing it to veto the sale of any Heathrow slots in the long-term while seeking assurances they will be used to provide service to Ireland.
However, the Irish Airline Pilots Association (IAPA), which owns a 7% shareholding in Aer Lingus, has dismissed the likelihood of any such guarantees extending into the long term.
"It is an absolute nonsense for anyone to suggest that (the government) can put legally binding constraints on the owner when they get their cheque for the shares - it just doesn't happen," Capt Evan Cullen, president of the IAPA, told the Oireachtas (parliament) Joint Committee on Transport.
Cullen claims the IAG would be forced by aviation regulators to maintain its existing Irish routes for just three or four years, following which the company could use the slots for more lucrative long haul routes.
Meanwhile Michael O'Leary has said that given the scale of its operations, Ryanair is not really concerned with the IAG's takeover bid. The Irish LCC itself made three offers to buy out Aer Lingus all of which were rejected either by the airline's board or by the European Commission citing competition concerns.
"Aer Lingus doesn't really matter to Ryanair any more. It has no future because it can't really compete with us going forward. IAG can't compete with us either," he told the Irish Independent.
Ryanair, which is currently awaiting the outcome of an appeal against a UK competition watchdog decision forcing it to water down its stake in Aer Lingus to 5% or less, would receive EUR405.5million from the IAG for its 29.8% stake in Aer Lingus, only EUR2million less than what it originally paid.
Aer Lingus (EI, Dublin Int'l) management's decision to support a revised International Airlines Group (IAG) takeover bid has encountered opposition from unions as well as elements in the Irish government. Last week, Irish Prime minister Enda Kenny was reported by the Times to have declined to back the bid in the Irish parliament.
Despite the board's decision to recommend the IAG's revised offer - its third - Transport minister Paschal Donohoe said that price would not be the only factor being taken into consideration adding that a "very careful examination" would be undertaken before any decision would be made.
"There are important considerations to be taken into account in addition to price," he said.
Concerns centre around a possible 1'200 job cuts as well as Aer Lingus' longterm future within the confines of the IAG insofar as its intercontinental Dublin Int'l hub operations are concerned. Critics have also claimed that the IAG's sole interest in the carrier focusses on its twenty-four London Heathrow slots which, at present, are used for flights to Belfast City, Dublin, Shannon, and Cork. Accountancy firm Deloitte has valued the slot pairs at between EUR770million (USD870.1million) and EUR925million (USD1.045billion) - more than half the EUR1.36 billion (USD1.54 billion) price that the IAG has offered for Aer Lingus.
In a bid to placate government and public concerns as a whole, the IAG said Aer Lingus would operate as a separate business with its own brand, management, and operations. In addition it would continue to provide connectivity to Ireland in line with IAG's goals of boosting both investment and tourism in the country. The IAG's offer is contingent on an agreement with 29.8% shareholder Ryanair (FR, Dublin Int'l) and government, which holds 25.1%.
According to the Irish Times, in the event of a sale, Dublin would want a clause allowing it to veto the sale of any Heathrow slots in the long-term while seeking assurances they will be used to provide service to Ireland.
However, the Irish Airline Pilots Association (IAPA), which owns a 7% shareholding in Aer Lingus, has dismissed the likelihood of any such guarantees extending into the long term.
"It is an absolute nonsense for anyone to suggest that (the government) can put legally binding constraints on the owner when they get their cheque for the shares - it just doesn't happen," Capt Evan Cullen, president of the IAPA, told the Oireachtas (parliament) Joint Committee on Transport.
Cullen claims the IAG would be forced by aviation regulators to maintain its existing Irish routes for just three or four years, following which the company could use the slots for more lucrative long haul routes.
Meanwhile Michael O'Leary has said that given the scale of its operations, Ryanair is not really concerned with the IAG's takeover bid. The Irish LCC itself made three offers to buy out Aer Lingus all of which were rejected either by the airline's board or by the European Commission citing competition concerns.
"Aer Lingus doesn't really matter to Ryanair any more. It has no future because it can't really compete with us going forward. IAG can't compete with us either," he told the Irish Independent.
Ryanair, which is currently awaiting the outcome of an appeal against a UK competition watchdog decision forcing it to water down its stake in Aer Lingus to 5% or less, would receive EUR405.5million from the IAG for its 29.8% stake in Aer Lingus, only EUR2million less than what it originally paid.
IAG's Offer For Aer Lingus "Not Persuasive"
February 20, 2015
A senior Irish government minister said that the IAG offer to buy Ireland's 25 percent stake in Aer Lingus was not yet persuasive enough.
The Aer Lingus board recommended the EUR€1.36 billion (USD$1.5 billion) offer from British Airways owner IAG last month, subject to the agreement of the Irish state to sell, but political opposition has been significant.
"It is up to IAG to make an offer that is persuasive in relation to the public interest here. And as of yet we don't have an offer that is persuasive enough," Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney said in an interview with Newstalk Radio.
IAG chief executive Willie Walsh indicated to an Irish parliamentary committee earlier this month that IAG would not improve its current offer, which includes guarantees to maintain certain Irish routes.
(Reuters)
February 20, 2015
A senior Irish government minister said that the IAG offer to buy Ireland's 25 percent stake in Aer Lingus was not yet persuasive enough.
The Aer Lingus board recommended the EUR€1.36 billion (USD$1.5 billion) offer from British Airways owner IAG last month, subject to the agreement of the Irish state to sell, but political opposition has been significant.
"It is up to IAG to make an offer that is persuasive in relation to the public interest here. And as of yet we don't have an offer that is persuasive enough," Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney said in an interview with Newstalk Radio.
IAG chief executive Willie Walsh indicated to an Irish parliamentary committee earlier this month that IAG would not improve its current offer, which includes guarantees to maintain certain Irish routes.
(Reuters)
Il board di Aer Lingus ha confermato che raccomandera' l'offerta di IAG ai propri azionisti
IAG takeover 'compelling', says Aer Lingus
By Phil Davies |24 February 2015 at 08.20 GMT
Aer Lingus believes there is a “compelling strategic rationale and significant benefits” to be had from a £1 billion takeover by British Airways owner International Airline Group.
The update came as the Irish carrier revealed a pre-tax loss of €111.5 million in 2014 against a profit of €39.6 million the previous year.
Operating profits were up by 18% to €72 million as passenger carryings rose by 1.5% to 9.7 million. Total network carryings surpassed 11 million for the first time, including passengers flown by Aer Lingus Regional.
The loss before tax reflects net exceptional items of €180.3 million, primarily related to resolving a pension dispute and staff stabilisation payments of €9.3 million, the airline said.
The airline described its short haul performance as “reslilient” in a “highly competitive environment” despite the €10 million impact of strike action in the first half of the year.
Long haul passenger fare revenue was up by 28.4% with average fares up by 7.2% as transatlantic capacity rose by almost 24%.
The Aer Lingus board reiterated its wiliness to recommend the financial terms of IAG's offer to shareholders.
A combination with IAG would, according to the carrier:
The Dublin-based carrier’s chairman Colm Barrington said: "Our performance in 2014 was strong, with significant growth in long haul and resilient short haul operations.
“To enhance these excellent results and to accelerate Aer Lingus' growth, it is the board's strong belief that the company should now take the opportunity to combine with IAG.
“In this combination Aer Lingus will operate as a separate business while gaining access to IAG's extensive network and benefiting from its scale.
“These significantly positive benefits will de-risk Aer Lingus' future, strengthen its operations and enhance the future success of the company."
Outgoing chief executive Christoph Mueller, who is to head Malaysia Airlines, said: "The year 2014 proved the strength of our ‘value carrier’ business model across both our short and long haul businesses.
“We profitably expanded our long-haul network utilising our cost advantage and favourable geographic position and helped establish Dublin as the seventhth largest European hub for transatlantic connections.
“Our short-haul business continued to demonstrate its resilience despite a highly competitive market. Commercial initiatives, in addition to cost control, led to the highest operating profit since the financial crisis and 17.8% above last year.
“The focus on our business is unabated and in the coming months we will invest in our customer proposition and distribution model in addition to reducing costs.
“Now that the complex pension funding issues have been addressed, we are re-launching our CORE programme, starting with the introduction of a new voluntary severance scheme at the beginning of this year.
“I am delighted to hand the reins to Stephen Kavanagh at the end of this week.
“I know that the entire Aer Lingus team has a lot of work planned for 2015 and I am confident that they will drive further improvements in profitability, customer satisfaction and employee engagement."
travelweekly
IAG takeover 'compelling', says Aer Lingus
By Phil Davies |24 February 2015 at 08.20 GMT
Aer Lingus believes there is a “compelling strategic rationale and significant benefits” to be had from a £1 billion takeover by British Airways owner International Airline Group.
The update came as the Irish carrier revealed a pre-tax loss of €111.5 million in 2014 against a profit of €39.6 million the previous year.
Operating profits were up by 18% to €72 million as passenger carryings rose by 1.5% to 9.7 million. Total network carryings surpassed 11 million for the first time, including passengers flown by Aer Lingus Regional.
The loss before tax reflects net exceptional items of €180.3 million, primarily related to resolving a pension dispute and staff stabilisation payments of €9.3 million, the airline said.
The airline described its short haul performance as “reslilient” in a “highly competitive environment” despite the €10 million impact of strike action in the first half of the year.
Long haul passenger fare revenue was up by 28.4% with average fares up by 7.2% as transatlantic capacity rose by almost 24%.
The Aer Lingus board reiterated its wiliness to recommend the financial terms of IAG's offer to shareholders.
A combination with IAG would, according to the carrier:
- Enhance Ireland's position as a natural hub for Europe on the North Atlantic;
- Accelerate Aer Lingus' transatlantic, long haul growth plans;
- Grow employment;
- Enhance short haul growth;
- Strengthen Ireland's connectivity; and
- Provide access to a global cargo network
The Dublin-based carrier’s chairman Colm Barrington said: "Our performance in 2014 was strong, with significant growth in long haul and resilient short haul operations.
“To enhance these excellent results and to accelerate Aer Lingus' growth, it is the board's strong belief that the company should now take the opportunity to combine with IAG.
“In this combination Aer Lingus will operate as a separate business while gaining access to IAG's extensive network and benefiting from its scale.
“These significantly positive benefits will de-risk Aer Lingus' future, strengthen its operations and enhance the future success of the company."
Outgoing chief executive Christoph Mueller, who is to head Malaysia Airlines, said: "The year 2014 proved the strength of our ‘value carrier’ business model across both our short and long haul businesses.
“We profitably expanded our long-haul network utilising our cost advantage and favourable geographic position and helped establish Dublin as the seventhth largest European hub for transatlantic connections.
“Our short-haul business continued to demonstrate its resilience despite a highly competitive market. Commercial initiatives, in addition to cost control, led to the highest operating profit since the financial crisis and 17.8% above last year.
“The focus on our business is unabated and in the coming months we will invest in our customer proposition and distribution model in addition to reducing costs.
“Now that the complex pension funding issues have been addressed, we are re-launching our CORE programme, starting with the introduction of a new voluntary severance scheme at the beginning of this year.
“I am delighted to hand the reins to Stephen Kavanagh at the end of this week.
“I know that the entire Aer Lingus team has a lot of work planned for 2015 and I am confident that they will drive further improvements in profitability, customer satisfaction and employee engagement."
travelweekly
Stanno ultimando gli ultimi dettagli sull'accordo (utilizzo slots ecc.) ma siamo ormai quasi alle battute finali:
IAG and Dublin ‘close’ to agreement on Aer Lingus takeover
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ffa66fd4-...es/feed//product&siteedition=uk#axzz3UAgLyCY7
IAG and Dublin ‘close’ to agreement on Aer Lingus takeover
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ffa66fd4-...es/feed//product&siteedition=uk#axzz3UAgLyCY7
Virgin Atlantic voices concerns about IAG/Aer Lingus tie-up
Virgin Atlantic (VS, London Heathrow) is planning to take its concerns about the International Airlines Group's (IAG) proposed takeover of Aer Lingus (EI, Dublin Int'l) to the European Commission (EC), a week after it did so with an Irish parliamentary Transport Committee.
During its meeting in Dublin last week, Virgin sought commitments to preserve competition in the Ireland-United Kingdom market which, if the sale goes ahead, would see Aer Lingus and fellow IAG sister carrier British Airways (BA, London Heathrow) cornering over half the market - Dublin Int'l-London Heathrow in particular where the IAG would hold a monopoly on all nineteen of the route's daily flights. As such, Virgin wants legally binding commitments from IAG on the total number of Aer Lingus and British Airways flights from Ireland to the UK.
“IAG has made some public offers of commitments on Aer Lingus frequencies, but importantly it’s made no promises about BA services, leaving it free to reduce BA frequencies after the transaction,” Joe Thompson, Virgin Atlantic director of network and alliances, was quoted by the Irish Independent. “Any commitment should be extended to cover British Airways as well as Aer Lingus, so the current level of frequencies is maintained.”
Virgin Atlantic will also push to ensure that in the event of a sale, Aer Lingus upholds its interline agreements with Virgin Atlantic wherein the Irish carrier feeds traffic into Virgin's British hubs for onward flights to international destinations such as the Caribbean and Hong Kong.
“If IAG’s proposed acquisition of Aer Lingus is allowed to progress unchecked, this choice is at risk. IAG will have a monopoly on flights between Ireland and the UK that enable the vast majority of these connections. And it will be able to withdraw from interline agreements with airlines that provide it with competition for connecting passengers,” Thompson added.
Ch-aviation
Virgin Atlantic (VS, London Heathrow) is planning to take its concerns about the International Airlines Group's (IAG) proposed takeover of Aer Lingus (EI, Dublin Int'l) to the European Commission (EC), a week after it did so with an Irish parliamentary Transport Committee.
During its meeting in Dublin last week, Virgin sought commitments to preserve competition in the Ireland-United Kingdom market which, if the sale goes ahead, would see Aer Lingus and fellow IAG sister carrier British Airways (BA, London Heathrow) cornering over half the market - Dublin Int'l-London Heathrow in particular where the IAG would hold a monopoly on all nineteen of the route's daily flights. As such, Virgin wants legally binding commitments from IAG on the total number of Aer Lingus and British Airways flights from Ireland to the UK.
“IAG has made some public offers of commitments on Aer Lingus frequencies, but importantly it’s made no promises about BA services, leaving it free to reduce BA frequencies after the transaction,” Joe Thompson, Virgin Atlantic director of network and alliances, was quoted by the Irish Independent. “Any commitment should be extended to cover British Airways as well as Aer Lingus, so the current level of frequencies is maintained.”
Virgin Atlantic will also push to ensure that in the event of a sale, Aer Lingus upholds its interline agreements with Virgin Atlantic wherein the Irish carrier feeds traffic into Virgin's British hubs for onward flights to international destinations such as the Caribbean and Hong Kong.
“If IAG’s proposed acquisition of Aer Lingus is allowed to progress unchecked, this choice is at risk. IAG will have a monopoly on flights between Ireland and the UK that enable the vast majority of these connections. And it will be able to withdraw from interline agreements with airlines that provide it with competition for connecting passengers,” Thompson added.
Ch-aviation
Anche il CEO di easyJet, Carolyn McCall, si e' schierata pubblicamente a favore del deal, citando il consolidamento una cosa buona per il settore.
Easyjet chief executive in favour of Aer Lingus-IAG deal
Carolyn McCall says the move would be ‘rational consolidation’
http://www.irishtimes.com/business/...ve-in-favour-of-aer-lingus-iag-deal-1.2168006
Easyjet chief executive in favour of Aer Lingus-IAG deal
Carolyn McCall says the move would be ‘rational consolidation’
http://www.irishtimes.com/business/...ve-in-favour-of-aer-lingus-iag-deal-1.2168006
Intanto che aspettano l'evolversi delle commissioni, sono usciti i risultati del Q1
http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2015/0429/697488-aer-lingus-results/
http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2015/0429/697488-aer-lingus-results/
Il governo irlandese ha accettato di vendere la propria quota di Aer Lingus (25.11%) ad IAG per 1.4 MLD€.
Se FR dovesse vendere la proprie azioni (pari al 29.82%) allo stesso prezzo unitario, incasserebbe un tesoretto di 1.66 MLD€.
Irish govt accepts IAG bid for Aer Lingus stake
By: GHIM-LAY YEO
WASHINGTON DC
The Irish government has agreed to sell its 25.1% stake in Aer Lingus to IAG for €1.4 billion ($1.52 billion), after accepting the airline group's third offer for the share in the Irish carrier.The deal is now subject to approvals by the Irish legislature's lower house as well as Aer Lingus shareholders, says IAG.“Aer Lingus, Ireland and IAG would all benefit from this deal. Aer Lingus would maintain control of its brand and operation while gaining strength as part of a profitable and sustainable airline group in an industry that’s consolidating," says IAG chief executive Willie Walsh. "Acquiring Aer Lingus would add a fourth competitive, cost effective airline to IAG, enabling us to develop our network usingDublin as a hub between the UK, continental Europe and North America."IAG had offered to pay €2.55 for each share, comprising €2.50 for each share and a €0.50 cash dividend per share.Aer Lingus chairman Colm Barrington says the deal is a "compelling transaction" for the airline. "The company will reap the commercial and strategic benefits of being part of the much larger and globally diverse IAG Group and as a member of the Oneworld alliance."Under the deal, Aer Lingus will retain its slots at London Heathrow and keep its branding and location of incorporation in Ireland. It will also operate its existing daily scheduled operations between Heathrow and Dublin, Cork and Shannon for at least seven years following the acquisition.
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/irish-govt-accepts-iag-bid-for-aer-lingus-stake-412760/
Se FR dovesse vendere la proprie azioni (pari al 29.82%) allo stesso prezzo unitario, incasserebbe un tesoretto di 1.66 MLD€.
Irish govt accepts IAG bid for Aer Lingus stake
By: GHIM-LAY YEO
WASHINGTON DC
The Irish government has agreed to sell its 25.1% stake in Aer Lingus to IAG for €1.4 billion ($1.52 billion), after accepting the airline group's third offer for the share in the Irish carrier.The deal is now subject to approvals by the Irish legislature's lower house as well as Aer Lingus shareholders, says IAG.“Aer Lingus, Ireland and IAG would all benefit from this deal. Aer Lingus would maintain control of its brand and operation while gaining strength as part of a profitable and sustainable airline group in an industry that’s consolidating," says IAG chief executive Willie Walsh. "Acquiring Aer Lingus would add a fourth competitive, cost effective airline to IAG, enabling us to develop our network usingDublin as a hub between the UK, continental Europe and North America."IAG had offered to pay €2.55 for each share, comprising €2.50 for each share and a €0.50 cash dividend per share.Aer Lingus chairman Colm Barrington says the deal is a "compelling transaction" for the airline. "The company will reap the commercial and strategic benefits of being part of the much larger and globally diverse IAG Group and as a member of the Oneworld alliance."Under the deal, Aer Lingus will retain its slots at London Heathrow and keep its branding and location of incorporation in Ireland. It will also operate its existing daily scheduled operations between Heathrow and Dublin, Cork and Shannon for at least seven years following the acquisition.
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/irish-govt-accepts-iag-bid-for-aer-lingus-stake-412760/
Aer Lingus, il governo irlandese cambia idea e venderà la sua quota
La conferma arriva dal Primo Ministro Enda Kenny: dopo aver dato parere sfavorevole, a inizio anno, ora il governo irlandese ha cambiato idea e sta progettando di vendere a Iag la sua quota del 25 per cento di Aer Lingus.
Kenny ha dichiarato ai giornalisti che il ministro dei Trasporti Paschal Donohoe dovrà esporre, alla prossima riunione di gabinetto, una perizia degli esperti sulla potenziale vendita. Con la sua quota lo stato è il secondo azionista del vettore dopo Ryanair, che ne detiene il 29,8 per cento. A gennaio Iag aveva già fatto una proposta di acquisto da 1,35 miliardi di euro. TTG
La conferma arriva dal Primo Ministro Enda Kenny: dopo aver dato parere sfavorevole, a inizio anno, ora il governo irlandese ha cambiato idea e sta progettando di vendere a Iag la sua quota del 25 per cento di Aer Lingus.
Kenny ha dichiarato ai giornalisti che il ministro dei Trasporti Paschal Donohoe dovrà esporre, alla prossima riunione di gabinetto, una perizia degli esperti sulla potenziale vendita. Con la sua quota lo stato è il secondo azionista del vettore dopo Ryanair, che ne detiene il 29,8 per cento. A gennaio Iag aveva già fatto una proposta di acquisto da 1,35 miliardi di euro. TTG
Scalata di Iag a Aer Lingus: offerta fissata a 2,5 euro per azione
È di 2 euro e 50 centesimi per azione il prezzo fissato per l’Opa di Iag sul capitale di Aer Lingus.
La cifra è stata determinata nel piano conclusivo della scalata da parte del gruppo che controlla British, Iberia e Vueling nei confronti dell’aerolinea irlandese.
La deadline per l’operazione è stata fissata al prossimo 16 luglio. Se non ci saranno colpi di scena in quella data per Aer Lingus inizierà il nuovo corso. TTG
È di 2 euro e 50 centesimi per azione il prezzo fissato per l’Opa di Iag sul capitale di Aer Lingus.
La cifra è stata determinata nel piano conclusivo della scalata da parte del gruppo che controlla British, Iberia e Vueling nei confronti dell’aerolinea irlandese.
La deadline per l’operazione è stata fissata al prossimo 16 luglio. Se non ci saranno colpi di scena in quella data per Aer Lingus inizierà il nuovo corso. TTG
Ryanair accetta l'offerta di Iag per Aer Lingus
Operazione da 1,4 miliardi di euro
Il consiglio di amministrazione di Ryanair, nella giornata odierna, ha deciso di accettare l’offerta di Iag per il 29,8% di Aer Lingus. L’operazione ammonta a 1,4 miliardi di euro.
Iag detiene già un 25,1% di Aer Lingus, una quota che era stata acquistata dallo Stato irlandese per 1,47 miliardi di euro.
"Crediamo che l’offerta di Iag per Aer Lingus sia ragionevole nell’attuale mercato e la accetteremo, nel migliore interesse degli azionisti di Ryanair – ha dichiarato Michael O’Leary -. Il prezzo implica per Ryanair un piccolo profitto sull’investimento effettuato in Aer Lingus nei passati 9 anni". GuidaViaggi
Operazione da 1,4 miliardi di euro
Il consiglio di amministrazione di Ryanair, nella giornata odierna, ha deciso di accettare l’offerta di Iag per il 29,8% di Aer Lingus. L’operazione ammonta a 1,4 miliardi di euro.
Iag detiene già un 25,1% di Aer Lingus, una quota che era stata acquistata dallo Stato irlandese per 1,47 miliardi di euro.
"Crediamo che l’offerta di Iag per Aer Lingus sia ragionevole nell’attuale mercato e la accetteremo, nel migliore interesse degli azionisti di Ryanair – ha dichiarato Michael O’Leary -. Il prezzo implica per Ryanair un piccolo profitto sull’investimento effettuato in Aer Lingus nei passati 9 anni". GuidaViaggi
Quale sarà la prossima conquista di Willie? Qualche linea area italiana?
Esistono linee aeree italiane oltra ad Alitalia?
Ma non li leggi i giornali?
Cordate su cordate internazionali si stanno litigando a suon di rilanci sia Blue Panorama che Meridiana.
Comunque, tornando in tema, vediamo cosa ne esce fuori da questa acquisizione.. Si parla di trasformare EI nel vettore low-cost di lungo raggio di IAG..