AER LINGUS FARES TO FALL 10% - Aer Lingus has said fares are set to fall 10% this year but the airline has reversed previous guidance of pre-tax profits for 2009. Instead, it says it will make a larger loss than in did in 2008.
Aer Lingus made a pre-tax loss of almost €120m in 2008 compared with profits of almost €125m the previous year. Without a €141m financial hit for its restructuring programme, the company would have made a profit - albeit a reduced one.
Fuel was much more expensive last year with the cost of keeping planes in the air almost 60% more than in 2007.
Chief executive Dermot Mannion said the story had never been better for consumers, as they would see very good value this year. He said that at a minimum, fares would fall 10%. Mr Mannion said Aer Lingus would make a pre-tax profit if fares did not fall by more than 12%, but it was difficult to forecast an exact figure in the current market.
Asked about executives' pay, he said his pay for 2008 would be lower than in 2007, when he earned €433,000.
He said he had dealt with the issue of a compensation payment for loss of office in the event of a takeover - a so-called 'golden parachute' which became a controversy earlier this year - when it had become a distraction to the airline. Mr Mannion said he operated on the same contract as he did when he joined the airline, and there were no 'bells and whistles'.
Mr Mannion said the airline had received 140,000 bookings for flights from its new Gatwick base, while Belfast booking were up 40% so far this year compared with a year earlier.
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