Aer Lingus chairman Colm Barrington has told shareholders the airline is facing the most difficult period in its 73-year history, as the economic downturn has weakened demand for air travel.
He said the airline's management was finalising what he described as a 'fundamental evaluation' of its whole business.
The review will look at the structure of the organisation, its current and future fleet needs, its route network, work practices and costs.
Mr Barrington said the aim was to determine the right business model, organisational structure and cost base for the current market conditions.
'To achieve this, Aer Lingus must deliver efficiencies, enhance productivity and eliminate outdated legacy work practices,' he said.
The chairman said Aer Lingus would add a fifth plane at its Gatwick base, but was working with Airbus to reduce its commitment to buying new planes in the near-term.
He said Aer Lingus could not give financial forecasts for this year as the trading environment was 'highly uncertain'.
Earlier this morning, Aer Lingus said it carried more passengers last month than in May 2008, despite a 21.1% drop in long-haul passenger numbers during the month.
Figures from the airline also showed that its load factor, or percentage of seats filled, during last month was down on the same month last year.
Aer Lingus carried 972,000 passengers in the month, up 2.7% from May last year, but the load factor fell 2.4 points to 73.7%.
Long-haul passenger numbers dropped 21.1% to 90,000, though traffic on shorter routes was up 6% to 882,000. The long-haul load factor fell five points to 66.2%, and short-haul was down 2.2 points to 78.1%.
Aer Lingus has cut its capacity on long-haul routes by 19% in the year, but has increased flights and routes on shorter routes by almost 15%.
For the first five months of 2009, passenger numbers are down 1.3%, though the airline's load factor is up 1.4 points at 72.3%.
Aer Lingus shares were down 4% to stand at 66 cent in Dublin this afternoon - down three cent.
