The chairman of Aer Lingus has said several candidates have applied for the post of chief executive, people who would be easily recognisable to the international markets and who could front a potential flotation of the airline.

Mr John Sharman said there had been an "extremely large response" to advertisements of the job in the national press.

The person selected will replace Mr Willie Walsh, who is leaving the airline on Friday.

Mr Sharman said he could not divulge the names of candidates, but he said many of them would be "instantly" recognised by the international markets and in the aviation industry.

He was speaking before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport.

He said he agreed with the conclusion from Goldman Sachs last year that a well-known and widely respected management team would be absolutely necessary if the airline opted for an IPO in the future.

He said the calibre of candidates meant this was now possible. "I think the Goldman Sachs point could be met instantaneously".

However he conceded any new chief executive would need time to "bed in".

He also warned that the aviation sector was becoming increasingly competitive and yields were continuing to fall.

"As foreshadowed by the Aer Lingus business plan, yields in the market have continued to fall, with January 2005 being approximately 15 per cent below the levels of January 2004," he told the committee.

Mr Sharman emphasised such a yield drop was common to all airlines and results from increased competition, especially from low-cost carriers.

The chairman also told the members that the airline's board would have to consider placing an order for replacement of longhaul aircraft before the summer.

He said while various funding options were open, based on the list price of the aircraft, plus various ancillary machinery, the cost would be in the region of $1 billion (€760 million).

Mr Sharman said talks with Airbus and Boeing were continuing. When asked what the best ownership option might be for the airline, he declined to comment.

"I would like to avoid commenting on that one," he said and referred the question to the Department of Transport instead.

He denied allegations that the departure of Mr Walsh and his two colleagues had damaged the airline. "I do not accept the company is drifting," said Mr Sharman.

When it was suggested by Ms Olivia Mitchell, Fine Gael transport spokeswoman that he was a "lame duck" chairman, Mr Sharman replied: "I hope not".

He said he was prepared to serve until March and beyond that if requested by the Government. He acknowledged a chief executive might not be "in situ" by March. Mr Sharman also dealt with allegations that Mr Walsh and his two management colleagues may have had a conflict of interest because of their plans to set up their own airline.

He denied this, however, and said the three executives had 47 years combined experience in the aviation business. "Nothing could have been learned that could compare with the experience they have in the industry," he said.

During yesterday's meeting, he also revealed that almost 600 staff are due to leave, or have left, the airline in recent months under a voluntary severance package. He said 800 others were also due to leave, but, due to a disagreement over future work practices, it had not been possible to progress their applications at this time.

There were also several sharp exchanges concerning recent comments made by Fianna Fáil TD, Mr Jim Glennon. Ms Róisín Shorthall, Labour Party transport spokeswoman, said certain members had scapegoated Mr Walsh when talking about potential conflicts of interest.

Mr Glennon said he wanted to reject this. "I reject any suggestion I was engaged in any scapegoating exercise," he argued.

Mr Sharman also revealed that Aer Lingus was no longer providing line maintenance work to FLS Aerospace at Dublin Airport. He said it was important for quick turnarounds that Aer Lingus kept its maintenance "in house". He emphasised however that FLS was still providing heavy maintenance to Aer Lingus.