STILL on the subject of the shamrock shenanigans of the relaunch, the Margin had to feel a little sorry for Aer Lingus management and staff who are somewhat caught in limbo.

The Margin knows that the airline was for a long time a lumbering giant. But the last chunk of the £175 million State bail-out should end taxpayer hand-outs to the company - certainly if the Eurocrats have their way.

But now, when Aer Lingus is behaving more like a privately-owned European carrier it gets hammered in some quarters for "spending £8 million (of taxpayers' money) to put a shine on the shamrock" and promote its brand image. It seems a case of "they're hung if they do and they're hung if they don't".