INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE Group's chief executive Willie Walsh has told The Irish Timeshe has no interest in buying Aer Lingus. Ahead of his appearance at the Dublin Chamber of Commerce's annual dinner, he was also critical of State aviation policy.
“We’ve made no secret that there are airlines that we’re interested in at the moment, but Aer Lingus is not one of them,” he said. Mr Walsh said IAG is interested in acquiring Tap in Portugal and Heathrow-based BMI.
“Tap is of interest because the Portuguese government has said it intends to privatise it and it’s got an excellent network into Brazil, which we see as a strategic market, and into Africa as well.
“The Heathrow slots of BMI are something that interest us greatly. If they [Lufthansa, BMI’s parent group] are interested in selling we’re definitely interested in buying . . . Aer Lingus is all rumour at the moment.”
Mr Walsh said a lot of the Aer Lingus activity is not relevant to the core IAG operations.
“When people talk about Aer Lingus, I think they have exaggerated ideas of the value that exists there. There are other opportunities that are potentially more exciting [for IAG].”
Uncertainty concerning Aer Lingus’s pension scheme will weigh on any attempt to sell it, he said. The carrier is part of a joint scheme operated with the Dublin Airport Authority and SR Technics that is €500 million in deficit.
While Aer Lingus’s management says it has no obligation to help fund the deficit, uncertainty about the issue remains.
“Nobody is going to have any interest in Aer Lingus if theres that uncertainty,” Mr Walsh said.
Aer Lingus has potentially come into play after indications by the Government and Ryanair that they might sell their combined 55 per cent holdings.
Does he believe Ryanair will sell its stake? “I do actually. Maybe he [Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary] has decided . . . to get out, but we’ll wait and see.”
Mr Walsh was also critical of aviation policy in the Republic.
“I’m not really sure what the policy was. Probably like a lot of other things . . . it was let’s try and milk it. So you had the introduction of taxes . . . An island nation requires good transport links. You’ve got to give people a good reason to come here not add taxes or other costs,” he said.