Aer Lingus Opens Gatwick Airport Base

Aer Lingus rejected the latest takeover bid from Ryanair as they revealed a plan worth £100 million for opening their first base outside of Ireland, as well as gave a hint to returning profits in 2009.

A new base at the Gatwick Airport is being opened for Aer Lingus, and they say they are going to operate short-haul flights to Ireland from there, as well as to other destinations across Europe. Beside costing £100 million, the expansion is also set to create 120 jobs. They are planning to base 4 Airbus A320s there initially, which they expect will grow to 8 planes in only one year.

Dermot Mannion, the Chief Executive of Aer Lingus, said that the Gatwick expansion is going to complement their existing flights out of the Heathrow Airport, as well as position the airline for further growth while they roll out new services and bases in the future.

Also last week, Ryanair, whose €750 million bid was rejected, accused Aer Lingus of making forecasts and claims that contradicted each other, calling on them to clarify their business strategy. They argued that comments from Aer Lingus about their trading performance after the recent takeover bid were more upbeat in comparison to those that they made in their interim management statement last month.

Ryanair sent a shareholder letter to the carrier, saying that they, as a major shareholder, are worried of some of the apparent contradictory forecasts and claims. The airline also said that other investors should vote for a united airline by January 5^th, but Colm Barrington, the Chairman of Aer Lingus, dismissed the proposal. He said that they offer undervalued Aer Lingus significantly and didn’t contain anything new.

Find out more about the carrier and airport at: www.aerlingus.com -or- www.gatwickairport.com