Financial advisers appointed by the Government to examine options for the future of Aer Lingus will present their report later this week, Public Enterprise Minister Mary O'Rourke said yesterday.
The Minister said her own preference for the troubled airline was a stock market flotation, but only when the market improved. Speaking on RTE radio she said: 'I think that that would be best way forward but I readily acknowledge that the markets and timing may not be right now.'
The Minister said the Government had also asked the advisers to examine the outlook for a trade sale, involving another airline, or any other means of raising finance.
The foot and mouth crisis and the international economic downturn have hit Aer Lingus' revenues. But EU law forbids any state aid for the company.
A series of industrial disputes and the sacking of its chief executive Michael Foley for alleged sexual harassment have added to the airline's problems.
Mrs O'Rourke said the company would be reporting losses for this year. 'That rings alarm bells because none of us want to go back to the early nineties when it was rescued at huge cost,' she said.
The Minister said the aviation industry was currently in a state of global decline and that despite its many problems, Aer Lingus was doing well when compared to some European airlines.
Two years ago, the Government rejected a possible purchase of a 10% stake by British Airways. Aer Lingus is now a member of the Oneworld alliance with the British giant. Aer Lingus needs at least £150m to update its fleet and modernise its operation. It had originally been mooted that an IPO would raise about £500m.
