Aer Lingus must consider merger, says former chief

THE future of Aer Lingus as an independent carrier is not secure and the company needs to consider merging with one or more airlines, its former chief executive has warned.

Chief executive of British Airways Willie Walsh was speaking at the University of Limerick, where he delivered a lecture at the Kemmy Business School entitled A Sustainable Future for Aviation.

The former chief executive of Aer Lingus admits he did argue in the past that Aer Lingus had a future as a stand-alone airline but says the global aviation industry has changed since then and is now facing record losses.