Airlines in Europe are political hot potatoes, especially when the airline is based in a head of state’s constituency like Aer Lingus is.

The Irish government has sensibly decided that it doesn’t really need to be in the air transportation business and is reducing its ownership of the company to 25%. Officially they could still invest if they chose (The EU prevents investment by the state in failing companies, but not profitable ones!) but why should they be spending investment cash on transport rather than health or education.

The main unions are opposed on the grounds that they fear for job security and a re-run fo the recent Irish Ferries Dispute where workers were laid off and replaced with cheaper workers from the EU. The fears are not unwarranted from the employee perspective but equally the management of any newly independent company should be as commercially free as possible.

I can see both sides on this one but in the end it is better for Aer Lingus to be as free from government interference as possible. There is a bright future ahead if management take full advantage of the potential that Ireland offers a well run airline. Ryanair shows how successful a low cost model could be, but I suspect that Aer Lingus will concentrate on its long haul routes. Certainly that seems to be what the recently appointed CEO Dermot Mannion is intent upon.