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Travelmole guest comment – aviation expert Dr Thomas Lawton on Ryanair’s bid for Aer Lingus
Ryanair fired an opening salvo today in the battle to gain control of Irish national carrier, Aer Lingus.
Renowned for never shying away from publicity, one must wonder if Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair, is not just ensuring that the company continues to make headlines, particularly after recent financial reports showed disappointing returns.
O’Leary is fond of winding up national, international and industry authorities, and his latest statement has already irked Irish Government officials and will probably make waves in Brussels.
And it remains to be seen how Ryanair, with its strategy of short-haul, ultra rapid turnaround, no frills flying could incorporate a long-haul traditional airline such as Aer Lingus into its business strategy and organisational culture.
With the cards stacked against either the Irish Government or the European Commission giving their go-ahead to this project on the grounds of over-concentration of capacity at airports such as Dublin, it would appear that today’s announcement serves more to increase Ryanair’s profile, than to change their business model.
One wonders, however, whether other long-haul companies will be tempted by Ryanair.
Emirates Airlines has proven extremely successful in taking an underperforming national airline in Sri Lanka, and turning it into a lean and efficient operation.
Perhaps Emirates, or other similar airlines, looking for additional landing slots in the UK and better access to the transatlantic market, will be tempted to make a move on the Irish national airline?
*Dr Thomas Lawton, of Tanaka Business School, Imperial College London, is a leading specialist on the growth and development strategies of airlines
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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