British Airways merger with Aer Lingus on the cards
British Airways is being tipped as a possible partner for Aer Lingus after the Irish government and Ryanair indicated they were both willing to sell their stakes in the Irish flag carrier.
The Irish government is expected to announce later today that it will dispose of its 25% stake in Aer Lingus and, according to a report in The Times, Ryanair has confirmed that it will sell its 29.8% shareholding.
Ryanair has attempted to buy Aer Lingus outright twice over the past five years, but it has been blocked by European competition commissioners and the value of its stake has fallen by more than €300m to about €100m, according to The Times.
The budget carrier was quoted saying that if another strong airline or investor acquired the government's share, it would not rule out entering into discussions with that party "for the subsequent disposal of Ryanair's near-30% stake".
BA's parent IAG has already stated that it wants to lead consolidation in Europe and chief executive Willie Walsh was previously head of Aer Lingus, which is the fourth largest airline at Heathrow where it holds 3% of all take-off and landing slots.
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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