Ryanair mulls legal action in Aer Lingus bid

Ryanair may mount a legal challenge if its bid to buy Irish rival Aer Lingus is blocked by the European Union but it will not pursue further acquisitions if the merger ultimately fails, its chief executive said yesterday.

Michael O’Leary, who in 20 years has grown Ryanair from six planes to 300, is trying for the third time to buy Ireland’s once dominant airline.

The EU says the deal may curb competition. O’Leary said if the effort fails, the airline will focus on growing organically and take advantage of the “enormous” opportunities created by the rapid deterioration in the finances of European legacy airlines like Iberia and SAS.