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Aer Lingus IAG take over bid [Master Thread]

Old Sep 28, 2016, 2:57 pm
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Aer Lingus takeover by IAG

Executive summary: Rumours of IAG (International Consolidated Airlines Group, British Airways, IAG Cargo, Iberia and Vueling - Link to Wikipedia article) interest in acquiring EI strengthened in December 2014, with refusals and objections by then 29% owner Ryanair, EI Board of Directors and some Irish government leaders (a 25% stake was held by the Irish government).

Aer Lingus, currently headed by CEO Stephen Kavanagh, was acquired by IAG for 1.36bn in 2015; IAG took full control of Aer Lingus on 02 Sep 2015.

Aer Lingus is working to join the oneworld airline alliance and plans to expand service to the U.S. later this year and next, CEO Stephen Kavanagh said Wednesday.

...Aer Lingus will strive to join the oneworld alliance that counts British Airways and American Airlines among its founding members.

There are some advantages to joining the big-boys club, Kavanagh said. While Avios will be a competitive tool, ultimately, we believe that will result in our joining again oneworld, he said.

Link
to USA Today article - 18 May 2016
Aer Lingus is on target to join the OneWorld alliance next year (2017), when it should also be able to benefit from BA's joint venture with American Airlines.

"The next big integration issue will be Aer Lingus coming into the joint business on the transatlantic. That will require some systems changes," said (IAG CEO) Mr Walsh.

Link to article in Independent - 30 Apr 2016
On 26 May 2015, after months of negotiations on a possible IAG takeover, the Irish government agreed to sell its 25% stake in the company. Ryanair retained a 30% stake in Aer Lingus which it agreed to sell to IAG on 10 July 2015 for 2.55 per share. In August 2015, Aer Lingus' shareholders officially accepted IAG's takeover offer. IAG subsequently assumed control of Aer Lingus on 2 September 2015.

Link to Wikipedia article about Aer Lingus
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Aer Lingus IAG take over bid [Master Thread]

Old Aug 11, 2016, 7:56 am
  #391  
 
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Another board I'm a member off is rumouring YUL (Montreal) as a possible destination, along with my firm favourite MIA.
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Old Aug 11, 2016, 8:50 am
  #392  
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EI used to serve Chicago via Montral and Shannon back in the day...

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Old Aug 12, 2016, 12:28 pm
  #393  
 
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Originally Posted by tangey
Another board I'm a member off is rumouring YUL (Montreal) as a possible destination, along with my firm favourite MIA.
Interesting.

I don't know if there are many Ireland-Montreal connections. Maybe as a gateway to Ottawa.

I think flights to Montreal in the past happened because Montreal was the main airport in Eastern Canada. Toronto now has that role.
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Old Sep 26, 2016, 8:37 am
  #394  
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Just noticed that the EC merger approval report gave these ballpark figures (not exact, commercially sensitive!) showing how EI provides feed to various carriers at various points.
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Old Sep 26, 2016, 9:58 am
  #395  
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Wow, a lot of pax to MH
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Old Sep 27, 2016, 3:24 am
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Originally Posted by irishguy28
Just noticed that the EC merger approval report gave these ballpark figures (not exact, commercially sensitive!) showing how EI provides feed to various carriers at various points.
Yes that is very interesting, and I wonder if attracting more of these PAX from other carriers onto BA & IB flights (and QR come to think of it) was a significant part of the rational for the merger.

That said I can see a lot of decent airlines in that list and I am not sure how attractive BA's Long Haul Low Cost Carrier model is going to be compared to them.
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Old Sep 27, 2016, 4:37 am
  #397  
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VS in the last number of years have increased ROI-UK-USA traffic from the BD days they had good feed with both BD EI. Now the game has changed it will be interesting to see the effect on VS over the next 18 months. Some say it will have little effect as VS have a very good reputation in Ireland especially with families heading to Florida. Since the launch of BFS-MCO they have had a bigger presence in the travel trade both North and South of Ireland which has boosted sales.
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Old Sep 27, 2016, 5:28 am
  #398  
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Virgin Atlantic had concluded an SPA (Special Prorate Agreement) with Aer Lingus/IAG, which negotiation had commenced prior to approval of the takeover.

This was also examined by the Commission, and approved at the same time as the merger.

IAG/Aer Lingus is also bound to offer similar PSAs to any other airlines that want them, as far as I can gather, but this is the only PSA mentioned by the Commission.

(While recently searching for biz class fares from DUB to ORD, EI/VS was the cheapest combination)
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Old Sep 27, 2016, 7:50 am
  #399  
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Originally Posted by irishguy28
Virgin Atlantic had concluded an SPA (Special Prorate Agreement) with Aer Lingus/IAG, which negotiation had commenced prior to approval of the takeover.
BA has a similar provision stemming from when it sought approval to buy BD.

It has to offer interline carriage on domestic flights to anyone who wants it at a very low rate (not sure the exact rate).
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Old Sep 27, 2016, 7:56 am
  #400  
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Yes indeed, these sort of "remedies" are standard now in mergers/takeovers - to prevent the loss of competition.

I'm not sure how long these requirements will remain in place but it means that Aer Lingus/IAG cannot simply decide unilaterally to stop co-operating with UA, KL, or anyone else.
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Old Sep 27, 2016, 9:10 pm
  #401  
 
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The MH numbers are a surprise to me. I wonder if that reflects O&D to Malaysia or onward connections - MH fares can be very attractive and they have a great network within Malaysia and to/from Borneo, Singapore, parts of Indonesia, etc.

It does explain the swift addition of SIN and KUL as BA codeshares.
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Old Sep 27, 2016, 11:41 pm
  #402  
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It is the total number of passengers transferring between Aer Lingus and Malaysia Airlines. It wouldn't make sense to count only those bound for KUL, or conversely to only count those bound for destinations beyond KUL (and I fully expect this latter group to be much larger than the former, and that Australia would represent the single biggest destination).

My last trip with MAS - in 2014 as it happens - was on an EI/MH ticket from Dublin to Sydney. My first ever trip to Australia in 2002 was on a bmi/Malaysia ticket from Dublin to Sydney - but EI provided all the Irish feed for MH after their departure from DUB.

Last edited by irishguy28; Sep 27, 2016 at 11:49 pm
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Old Sep 28, 2016, 6:24 am
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Originally Posted by irishguy28
It is the total number of passengers transferring between Aer Lingus and Malaysia Airlines. It wouldn't make sense to count only those bound for KUL, or conversely to only count those bound for destinations beyond KUL (and I fully expect this latter group to be much larger than the former, and that Australia would represent the single biggest destination).

My last trip with MAS - in 2014 as it happens - was on an EI/MH ticket from Dublin to Sydney. My first ever trip to Australia in 2002 was on a bmi/Malaysia ticket from Dublin to Sydney - but EI provided all the Irish feed for MH after their departure from DUB.
Yet for a carrier that would require two-stops (LHR and KUL), attracting a third to half the feed of BA and VS is indeed quite surprising. I think that's the interesting bit and there hasn't been a full-bodied theory that explains why MH has a much much bigger share than say, SQ.
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Old Sep 28, 2016, 6:46 am
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When I was researching prices for a friend to Sydney, the EI/MH was always pricing the cheapest option
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Old Sep 28, 2016, 7:07 am
  #405  
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Originally Posted by MeltingAlf
I think that's the interesting bit and there hasn't been a full-bodied theory that explains why MH has a much much bigger share than say, SQ.
It's simple...Malaysia Airlines is, and always has been, cheaper than Singapore Airlines! So more people book the cheaper ticket

(I have only flown once to Australia with Singapore Airlines - but that was their special 400+ return fare from London back in 2009!)

Besides - Virgin can no longer get you to Australia (they stopped flying to SYD via HKG 2.5 years back) and BA can only get you to Sydney - so MH has the edge for Australia and NZ from Ireland. From KUL you can fly direct to ADL, DRW, MEL and PER - and for NZ to AKL - so you require one less stop that, say, BA [unless BA were to route you onto a codeshare out of HKG or somewhere...I am not very familiar with how BA proposes flights to cities other than SYD for Irish pax].

It would appear that, after the Emirates partnership, EI only transfers, at most, a trickle of passengers to Qantas.

Of course, you could go with China Airlines (and I sadly had to cancel a ticket I had booked on EI/CI this winter) quite cheaply too - or with more expensive combos offered by the likes of CX, SQ, and the Gulf carriers EY and QR.

Last edited by irishguy28; Sep 28, 2016 at 7:17 am
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