Aer Lingus - Ryanair bid is not going to go away

The defiance exhibited yesterday by Aer Lingus would give the impression that all is over in the Ryanair attempt to take over the recently privatised national carrier.

The realistic prospects are that the Ryanair challenge is not going away, but what may come back to the bid is their rather abrasive staff relations position.

Since the national airline went private on the Dublin and London stock exchanges last month, Ryanair began buying shares and once it had acquired 19%, Michael O’Leary publicly declared his intention to take over Aer Lingus.