Airline Code [RYR]
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Tags :UK, Ryanair, Aer Lingus
Ryanair called (06-Apr-09) upon Aer Lingus to appoint David Begg, the President of ICTU (and already a EUR40,000 p/a Director of the airline), as the new CEO of Aer Lingus Group plc in recognition of the fact that the unions and Government control the Board and the Management of Aer Lingus, they have done so for many years, and will continue to run Aer Lingus to protect the vested interests of its trade union workforce, at the expense of its passengers and shareholders.
Ryanair made its comments as Aer Lingus lost its 10th Chief Executive over the past 16 years. To lose so many Chief Executives is neither an accident nor carelessness, but the product of a dysfunctional Board which has repeatedly prevented management from running the airline in the interests of its shareholders. The narrow vested interests of its trade union employees has repeatedly frustrated and defeated each new management team. The fact that Aer Lingus CEO’s have an average life expectancy of just 18 months is a damning indictment of the Government and Board of the airline.
Ryanair has little faith that the current Chairman or Board of Aer Lingus will find a suitable replacement, when just 12 weeks ago they were promising shareholders “a profit overall” in 2008 and “substantially improved” profits in 2009. The Board of Aer Lingus which is comprised entirely of Government appointees, trade union hacks, and ESOT reps have no vision for the future of Aer Lingus. They have failed to deliver real change and they have misled shareholders and the markets about profitability in 2008 and 2009, when Aer Lingus has and will continue to make large losses.
Ryanair believes the only credible way forward in this mess is to recognise the current reality, and allow the Board of Aer Lingus to appoint David Begg, the Head of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (and a Non Exec Director of Aer Lingus) as Chief Executive. This will at least recognise that the unions have and will continue to run the show at Aer Lingus.
Speaking on this, Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said:
“David Begg and his union cronies have been running this country through the failed social partnership process for many years. The trade unions have also been running Aer Lingus - equally unsuccessfully - in recent years as well. Having destroyed the Irish economy, perhaps its time to let David Begg and the “brothers” destroy Aer Lingus as well. After all with just one or two more “transformational deals” the airline will be stripped of its remaining cash and then both the Government and the trade unions will have to face up to the fact that Aer Lingus is a high cost, high fare, inefficient airline that has no independent future, because it is too small, too peripheral and too badly managed to survive”.
“The fact that Aer Lingus has lost its 10th Chief Executive in 16 years is more than carelessness or stupidity. It is a sign of a dysfunctional Board and a failed ownership structure in Aer Lingus. Aer Lingus repeatedly hires good people, but within a relatively short time they either leave or are dismissed because the vested political and trade union interests which control Aer Lingus are unwilling to implement the real changes that are needed to secure Aer Lingus’ long-term future.
“No worthwhile Chief Executive would wish to work for a company like Aer Lingus where the vested interests of Government and the trade unions repeatedly frustrates or gets rid of effective management and destroys shareholder value".
(c) Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Date posted: 07-Apr-09
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Ryanair calls upon Aer Lingus to appoint David Begg as CEO 
