Ryanair has said its takeover bid for Aer Lingus is a 'long shot' after a the employee share ownership trust last week voted to rejected its €1.48 billion offer.
The comment was made by chief financial officer Howard Millar at The Future of Air Transport conference in London.
Ryanair has set a deadline of next Monday for shareholders to accept its offer. Earlier this week, Ryanair increased its stake in Aer Lingus from 19% to 25%.
Earlier the European Commission said it had delayed a decision on Ryanair's proposed purchase of Aer Lingus from December 6 to December 20 in order to consider possible remedies.
The proposed remedies would fix anti-competitive problems identified by the Commission. The extra time allows customers and competitors to comment on the proposed remedies.
Despite building up a 25% stake in Aer Lingus, shareholders opposed to the Michael O'Leary-led bid still own over 46% of the airline.
Aer Lingus shares closed down one cent at €2.73 in Dublin, while Ryanair dropped 30 to €9.40, mainly because of higher oil prices.
