Sep 28, 2016, 2:57 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
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 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
"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
Link to Wikipedia article about Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus IAG take over bid [Master Thread]
Feb 2, 2015, 8:05 am
#106
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IAG acquired another 92,825 shares in EI in Friday trades reported this morning.
It will be interesting to see if they continue to build up their holding, taking advantage of the reduced share price, in light of the negative noises coming from Leinster House.
It will be interesting to see if they continue to build up their holding, taking advantage of the reduced share price, in light of the negative noises coming from Leinster House.
Last edited by irishguy28; Feb 2, 2015 at 8:10 am
Feb 2, 2015, 8:49 am
#107
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Apparently, *O is a CRS code that can be used to identify all oneworld operated services. I think that must be how ITA Matrix and expert flyer, etc can identify flights by alliance.
Feb 2, 2015, 8:52 am
#108
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Feb 2, 2015, 9:51 am
#109
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Irish Times "IAG to guarantee slots "
In a move designed to convince the coalition to allow the sale of the State’s 25.1 per cent stake in Aer Lingus, IAG is formally offering to give legally-binding guarantees that the airline’s 23 slots at Heathrow cannot be sold without the Government’s agreement.
Feb 2, 2015, 9:57 am
#110
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Seems with the guarantee from IAG today it will take the heat off the Govt a bit. I do feel they are using this to try come up smelling of roses though after the rhetoric that weasel Kenny was spouting. No doubt trying to deflect the Irish water fiasco!
Feb 2, 2015, 11:14 am
#111
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 333
In favor!
I, for one, would love to see EI back in one world. I have no problem with the brand, and FAR prefer EI to FR. I live north of Belfast (which also splits LHR between EI and BA), and still drive to Dublin for the excellent pre clearance. My regret, AA has pretty well left Dublin for US, an altogether worse product, and I cant, OK will not, use EI outside of O*. The faster the better.
I, for one, would love to see EI back in one world. I have no problem with the brand, and FAR prefer EI to FR. I live north of Belfast (which also splits LHR between EI and BA), and still drive to Dublin for the excellent pre clearance. My regret, AA has pretty well left Dublin for US, an altogether worse product, and I cant, OK will not, use EI outside of O*. The faster the better.
Feb 2, 2015, 12:27 pm
#112
Join Date: May 2014
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Very much agree with this. Long gone are days of LHR being the main connector for pax ex-DUB. About 20 years ago there was one daily flight to FRA with LH now there are three and they are packed. MUC is now daily too offering more connections on the LH network. CDG was the same, now plenty of connections operated by CityJet. Nowadays passengers connect via IST, AUH and DXB to anywhere in Asia, Pacific and Africa. EK and EY can load up two large planes daily. TK has gone double daily and again most are connecting passengers. FRA, ZRH and CDG, and to some degree AMS, allow pax to connect practically anywhere in the world. Increased TATL routes have offered more connections to Latin and Central America. Now ET will open up Africa like never before.
Gone are the days LHR was central for connectivity. In my experience many of my colleagues avoid LHR like the plague (hassle of changing terminals, obnoxious security and in most cases higher fares to fly via LHR).
If, and that is a big if, BA was to reduce LHR flights you can be sure that many of these other carriers will increase their capacity to take the traffic.
Gone are the days LHR was central for connectivity. In my experience many of my colleagues avoid LHR like the plague (hassle of changing terminals, obnoxious security and in most cases higher fares to fly via LHR).
If, and that is a big if, BA was to reduce LHR flights you can be sure that many of these other carriers will increase their capacity to take the traffic.
Feb 2, 2015, 1:25 pm
#113
Join Date: Nov 2000
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Yeah except Dublin isn't the only city or airport in Ireland. LHR is *extremely* significant for ORK and SNN - both in order for people to simply get to London which is a hugely relevant leisure, family and business destination and for connections beyond and especially for TATL connections. I belong to the people who haven't yet accepted the Dublin notion that all the "culchies" should just take a 3-4 hour ride in a crappy coach to get to an airport.
Feb 2, 2015, 3:01 pm
#114
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There ain't no motorways for an awful lot of those journeys either.
Feb 2, 2015, 4:54 pm
#115
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Why not just keep things the way they are now? Motorways; hourly buses direct to the airport; and flights from Cork and Shannon to Heathrow?
Feb 2, 2015, 5:26 pm
#116
Join Date: May 2014
Location: DMV
Posts: 2,092
So hop in your cars for the 2-2.5 hour ride, that is why we put all that money into the motorways, There are plenty of folks all around the world who have to travel a couple of hours to get access to an Airport. They do it in their thousands from Northern Ireland, albeit not to LHR. Do you really want to go back to the days of no motorways, no hourly buses direct to the airport. I dare say that we should all be grateful for how far we have come in last 15 years
And as I said there's 500k people in Cork, another 140k in Kerry. If you look at an airport like Bremen in Germany - which serves a similar market and is only about 1 hour away from other airports like Hamburg and Hannover - it has 5 daily connections to Frankfurt, 5 to Munich, 3 to Amsterdam, 3 to CDG. Those are sensible connections for a Northern German regional airport.
International commercial aviation works along the hub and spoke system. Regional airports serve the hubs from where the inter-continental long-haul flights go. For German regional airports that's Frankfurt and Munich and to some degree Amsterdam and CDG. For Ireland's regional airports the sensible hub is Heathrow for various reasons, one the geographic proximity, two the cultural/linguistic proximity, three the very significant O&D traffic.
There's no special pleading there, I don't especially care about rivalry vs Dublin or anything like that. I would simply want aviation infrastructure befitting a first world country.
Feb 3, 2015, 12:46 am
#117
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Aer Lingus IAG take over bid [Master Thread]
http://m.independent.ie/business/irish/aer-lingus-sale-iag-adds-veto-to-list-of-concessions-30958694.html
IAG promised a number of concessions, including vowing not to sell critical slots at London Heathrow without Government approval.
IAG promised a number of concessions, including vowing not to sell critical slots at London Heathrow without Government approval.
Feb 3, 2015, 12:58 am
#118
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Yeah except Dublin isn't the only city or airport in Ireland. LHR is *extremely* significant for ORK and SNN - both in order for people to simply get to London which is a hugely relevant leisure, family and business destination and for connections beyond and especially for TATL connections. I belong to the people who haven't yet accepted the Dublin notion that all the "culchies" should just take a 3-4 hour ride in a crappy coach to get to an airport.
Feb 3, 2015, 2:24 am
#119
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Originally Posted by The Irish Examiner
The Cork and Shannon chambers of commerce will be given a role in deciding the future of Aer Lingus flights to Heathrow from both airports according to an IAG submission made to the Government, the Irish Examiner has learned
...
IAG said it considers Aer Lingus flights from Cork, Shannon, and Dublin as potentially a lucrative source of business for its worldwide network of flights that operate out of Heathrow.
...
IAG said it considers Aer Lingus flights from Cork, Shannon, and Dublin as potentially a lucrative source of business for its worldwide network of flights that operate out of Heathrow.
Feb 3, 2015, 4:49 am
#120
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Dublin
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Pre-clearance is handy but it's hardly a reason to eat into your own profitable routes?
It also might be worthwhile if eireman left the pale every now and then
Last edited by ferg01; Feb 3, 2015 at 4:55 am