Willie Walsh to quit Aer lingus

vinnyfitz

From RTE:

Don't tell me this will send us back towards the bad old days of a monopoly - just called Ryanair this time.... :eek:

5 months is a lot of notice. I bet they won't stay around that long

Three Aer Lingus executives resign
RTÉ has learned that the three top executives at Aer Lingus, including chief executive Willie Walsh, have resigned from the airline.

Mr Walsh along with the chief operations officer Seamus Kearney and chief financial officer Brian Dunne will leave the airline in May.

It is understood that the Department of Transport has been notified of their decision.

Earlier, this year the three men sought permission from the Government to pursue a management buyout of the airline.

However, they subsequently announced that they were abandoning that plan.

It is unclear as yet what the three executives will do after leaving Aer Lingus.

aidan_walsh

This seems somewhat sudden. Only a few weeks ago Walsh was on TV harping on about the changes he had forseen for the airline, and this certainly wasn't one of them...

dmeehan

maybe they can work on their "investment plan" for aer fungus now

Traffic

A huge amount of credit has to go to him and his team for leading the company back from the brink and into record profits.

Theres a number of possibilities that he might so now,
he could lead an "investment plan" for the company,
he could of been head hunted by another major carrier and offered money he couldnt refuse

Well done WW and best of luck with his future career

Victor

I'm curious on the three of them going at the same time. Is there something they know and we don't?

Maybe they'll set up their own airline?

Metrobest

Walshe did a good job steering the Aer Lingus ship through some rocky waters. Privately, he was annoyed that the government did not recognise this heroic effort by allowing the MBO.

As a vocal critic of the bizarre Shannon stopover, I won't be surprised when he sets up an airline operating transatlantic routes into Ireland, based on the Aer Lingus European model.

aidan_walsh

Victor wrote:

Maybe they'll set up their own airline?

I doubt it. Perhaps they are planning to take another shot at an Aer Lingus buyout though, this time from the outside...

vinnyfitz

Listening to Martin Cullen on the radio this morning I'm sure that they are planning to buy in from the outside. He said he had several cordial meetings with them recently. What did they discuss?

Cullen: "Well lads, sorry, but as Seamie explained during the summer, we can't let you buy the company through an MBO, the press and the voters will go mad about youse enriching yourselves."

Walsh: "Right so. Say we quit and set up a consortium to buy in from the outside once the cabinet agrees that a private equity stake is essential. Have you any problem with that?

C: No.... I suppose not

W: OK, we are off then. How long do you want in terms of a notice period?

C: Well, it will take us 6 months to get around to seeking bids, so you can stay till May if you want

Exeunt omnes in the direction of the Dáil Bar.

Zaph0d

Lovely how people estimated the prospect of a few semistate employees getting rich as a a greater danger than the risk of Aer Lingus going back to losing 2 million euro a week of public money.

Envy Jealousy Bregrudgery

unkel

vinnyfitz wrote:

Exeunt omnes in the direction of the Dáil Bar.

LOL, I think they'll buy from the outside too

Why else give such a long notice? I heard they aren't taking up the voluntary redundancy package either

vinnyfitz

unkel wrote:

Why else give such a long notice?

Well the other possibility is that they are advertising their availability to any other airline with a serious management deficit...

Did anyone hear the Bert laying into Aer Lingus management in the Dáil this morning? It did not sound like any Walsh led bid would get a sympathetic hearing from him.... Bertie the socialist is contemplating putting in government cash!

As Rabbitte suggested this could indeed lead to the break up of the coalition.