WITH a second take over offer rejected from Ryanair, Aer Lingus chiefs have decided to relaunch the Shannon to Heathrow link in March 2009.
With flights to restart on March 29, 2009 next, the airline says it will operate double daily flights to and from the mid-western hub.
Noting the expectation to increase profitability, Aer Lingus says the decision to restart the route follows the introduction of recent cost saving measures including work practice changes and new work agreements at the three main national airports.
A defense for rejecting the 525 million euro offer by the low cost budget airline was published by Aer Lingus this Monday together with details announcing the return of the route that was removed from service last January. The offers made by Ryanair were said to significantly undervalue the company and Aer Lingus chiefs did not want a monopoly situation to arise. An open letter to shareholders by Aer Lingus Chairman Colm Barrington said; “Despite … extremely challenging conditions, we expect to achieve profit overall in 2008,”
“While maintaining revenue is crucial, we expect that significantly reduced fuel prices and a number of management cost reduction initiatives will enable Aer Lingus to continue to enhance profitability in 2009 and beyond,” he added.
