Ryanair bid to secure Aer Lingus

Ryanair yesterday held out fresh concessions in an attempt to win approval from competition regulators to acquire the Irish flag carrier, Aer Lingus.

The low-cost airline offered to move some of its rival’s planes to continental Europe to operate non-Irish routes and allay concerns about a near monopoly in the domestic market.

Europe’s biggest budget carrier said it would also scrap some of its own routes from Ireland.

Ryanair said it has held talks with up to ten different airlines and charter companies to take up abandoned routes, including Virgin, CityJet, Flybe and International Airlines Group.

Ryanair had an initial bid turned down by the European Commission in 2007 and dropped a second offer in 2009. Ryanair already owns 30 per cent of Aer Lingus. The European Commission is to rule by January on Ryanair’s €700 million (£563.2m) bid.