Airline chairman refutes claims

AER LINGUS has told Ryanair that if it wants to dispose of its 29.8% stake in the airline then it is open to having “constructive discussions”.

Earlier this week, Ryanair threatened to force an emergency general meeting of Aer Lingus shareholders if the airline did not respond to “unanswered questions” on policy within seven days.

In a letter to Ryanair, dated yesterday, Aer Lingus chairman Colm Barrington refuted Ryanair’s “false allegations” that his airline doesn’t listen to shareholders.

Ryanair wants communication on three initiatives it has put forward — namely confirmation from Aer Lingus that it won’t make any additional payments to its defined contribution pension schemes without prior shareholder approval; the potential payment of a one-off dividend of 20c per share (amounting to a total of around €110 million) from Aer Lingus’ €900m+ cash reserves and an end to what it calls the “cover up” of the Deloitte/ McCann Fitzgerald report into Aer Lingus’ recent €30m “leave and rehire” revenue penalty.

In his letter, Mr Barrington says that Aer Lingus is “resolutely focused on the creation of value through a series of initiatives for all shareholders”. He hit back at jibes made by Ryanair against Aer Lingus’ underperforming share price, saying “it is our view that Ryanair’s shareholding has had a significantly detrimental impact on Aer Lingus’ share price”, adding that Ryanair’s shareholding “cannot be maintained in the long term”.