Ryanair won’t be put off by court block
RYANAIR yesterday said an EU court decision upholding a takeover block would not stop them from bidding for Aer Lingus again in the future.
The airline also welcomed the decision to allow it to retain its 29.8 per cent share in Aer Lingus.
The EU Commission, the body that looks after European competition, ruled in 2007 the deal from Ryanair to buy the former Irish state airline would make the combined carriers too dominant on many routes.
They then added that by blocking the takeover there was no reason to make the airline divest its minority shareholding in Aer Lingus as they requested.
The General Court, Europe’s second highest court, agreed with the conclusions of EU
Competition commissioner Nellie Kroes. A statement from the court said the merger was “incompatible with the common market”.
Ryanair’s chief executive Michael O’Leary said: “We continue to believe that the long term financial viability of Aer Lingus can only be secured as part of one strong Irish airline group, particularly when the rest of Europe’s airlines are consolidating to three main flag carriers, lead by Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa and two large low fares carriers, Ryanair and Easyjet.
A statement from the company said the current merger proposal between Olympic and
Aegean airlines in Greece shows the need for small regional carriers such as Aer Lingus
need to merge or consolidate.
O’Leary added: “Unless Aer Lingus finds a strong airline partner then we believe it is
doomed to fail because it can’t compete with Ryanair’s low fares, customer service or scale.”