Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion received a €200,000 top-up to his pension fund last year as part of his €982,000 overall remuneration package from the airline. This is revealed in Aer Lingus's first annual report as a public company.
The pension top-up was part of a "special bonus" agreed by Aer Lingus and Mr Mannion in a service agreement signed on April 22nd, 2005.
That also allowed for a "one-time" payment of up to one-year's basic salary for exceptional performance. Mr Mannion earned a basic salary in 2006 of €380,000.
He received a pension payment of €295,000 last year. Of this, €95,000 related to a provision in his contract which entitles him to receive 25 per cent of his salary for a pension plan. This indicates that he received a once-off €200,000 top-up to his pension. The balance of Mr Mannion's "special bonus" was a performance-related bonus of €260,000.
Under the terms of his contract, Mr Mannion is entitled to 25 per cent of his basic salary, or a maximum of €95,000, as a bonus.
This would indicate that at least €165,000 of his performance payment last year related to his "special bonus". In addition, he received a director's fee of €17,500 and other benefits of €29,000. In 2005, Mr Mannion received total remuneration of €206,000, having joined the company on August 5th that year.
Greg O'Sullivan, Aer Lingus's only other executive director, received total remuneration last year of €154,000. This figure reflects the fact that the airline's finance director only took on his role on August 25th last year.
His pay comprises €80,000 in basic salary and fees, a €5,000 pension contribution, a bonus payment of €56,000 and "other" payments of €13,000.
According to the Aer Lingus prospectus published in advance of its flotation, Mr O'Sullivan is entitled to an annual salary of €210,000, a performance bonus of up to 40 per cent of his salary, a director's fee of €17,500 and a car allowance of €30,000.
Aer Lingus chairman John Sharman was paid €86,000 last year as a non-executive director. This comprised €35,000 in basic salary and other payments of €51,000. In 2005, Mr Sharman was paid €272,000 for his role as executive chairman of Aer Lingus from January 25th to August 7th, and €57,000 for his role as a non-executive member of the board.
Former chief executive Willie Walsh received €324,000 in 2005, having resigned on January 28th that year. Former finance chief Brian Dunne, who resigned at the same time as Mr Walsh, received €281,000.
Aer Lingus's total payment to directors last year was €1.48 million, compared with €1.41 million in 2005.
Mr O'Sullivan had the largest shareholding of all the Aer Lingus directors at the end of 2006, owning 24,936 shares.
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