Etihad to pass up Aer Lingus shares

Etihad will not be buying a stake in Irish national airline Aer Lingus, Gulf News can report. Senior Irish government and travel industry sources have confirmed independently that the Abu Dhabi-based carrier of the UAE had ‘kicked the tyres' and briefly considered purchasing Dublin's 25.4 per cent share of Aer Lingus. Speculation about a purchase arose last month after Etihad CEO James Hogan visited Ireland and met with the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny at an investment forum. "There was some very brief discussion but Etihad isn't interested," a senior Irish government source confirmed to Gulf News. "If there was an interest, it was very tentative and wasn't based on the landing slots at Heathrow. If anything, [Etihad] would have a hypothetical interest in using Dublin to pre-clear passengers entering the United States." The 24.4 per cent stake in Aer Lingus is valued close to the ¤130 million (Dh650.6 million) mark. Historical ties At present, Aer Lingus controls 17 sets of landing and takeoff slots at the busy London airport. Dublin is under pressure to offload its interest in Aer Lingus to meet austerity measures as part of Ireland's ¤85 billion bailout last November by the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank. Because of Ireland's close and historical ties to the United States, passengers entering the US are pre-cleared by US officials working at Dublin's international airport, making for seamless entry at US points. "If Etihad had any interest, it would be to try and use that pre-clearance facility in some way, but that's highly improbable as Etihad flies direct to the US from Abu Dhabi at present. Emirates airline will be starting regular service to Dublin in early January. Etihad currently operates ten flights a week to Dublin. Low-cost carrier Ryanair, which owns nearly 30 per cent of Aer Lingus, said on Wednesday it would be willing to offload its portion to Etihad. Available for sale Ryanair's deputy chief executive, Michael Cawley, made the comments as the airline boosted its profit guidance by ten per cent for its current financial year that ends next March on the back of a strong first-half performance. "We wouldn't stand in the way and it would be available for sale," Cawley said of the Ryanair stake. Asked if that would include a willingness to sell the bulk of its shareholding to Etihad, Cawley indicated that ‘perhaps' it would be a possibility. "I'm not going to say yes here, but most importantly I'm not going to say no either," he said. "We'd have to wait to see what they have in mind." Under European ownership rules, Etihad could not purchase more than 49.9 per cent of Aer Lingus. "We never comment on speculation of this nature, except to say that we talk regularly and frequently to many airlines and a range of other businesses from all over the world about issues and opportunities," an Etihad spokesperson told Gulf News yesterday.