The board of Aer Lingus will meet this morning to choose a new chief executive. The company's current chief operating officer, Mr Gary Cullen, is strongly tipped to get the job.

The post attracted 60 applications but this was recently narrowed down to four. One external candidate was said to be a strong contender, but it is thought Mr Cullen has the edge.

He has occupied his current position since January 1997 and has held a variety of posts within the organisation during a career which spans more than 20 years. At one stage he was general manager, cargo.

In his 50s, he has also worked abroad on secondment with other airlines.

Well-respected within the Aer Lingus group, Mr Cullen had a considerable input into the Cahill Plan, drawn up some years ago by the current chairman, Mr Bernie Cahill and widely credited with bringing the airline back into profit.

If Mr Cullen is appointed to the post, one of his key tasks in the coming years will be to implement £50 million of cost savings in the group. Although much of the detail has already been agreed, the savings are wide-ranging and are crucial to the airline's future.

The new chief executive will also be deeply involved in seeking a strategic partner for Aer Lingus. The airline is to report to Government in six months with a recommendation.

It is keen to find a partner which will help it develop its transatlantic routes. Although these routes carry fewer passengers, they are far more profitable than short-hop journeys to Europe. It is estimated that around 40 per cent of Aer Lingus profits come from the Ireland-US routes, although they only carry 700,000-800,000 passengers a year.

The announcement earlier this week that five major airlines had formed a global alliance will add further impetus to the Aer Lingus task. Two of the players are British Airways and American Airlines. The alliance will be called one-world and many observers see this as a natural fit for Aer Lingus.

The State airline has a very strong brand name and a number of valuable slots at London airports, which would be attractive to an alliance. In addition, it feeds British Airways with at least 800,000 passengers a year, who travel on to other destinations. Some airline sources believe that British Airways may court Aer Lingus to ensure this business is not lost, something which could happen if the airline opted for a different partner. Meanwhile, it is unclear what remuneration the chief executive's post will attract. The previous chief executive, Mr Gary McGann, was on a special package said to be worth in excess of £150,000 a year.

Under current guidelines, a chief executive should receive around £105,000 a year. The current Government asked a firm of consultants to carry out a review of semi-state chief executives' pay. This review has now been completed, but not yet approved by Cabinet.