David McWilliams thinks that the Irish public is being a little unrealistic in its assessment of the Ryanair bid. He is right. The comments give an indication of how unrealistic the public is. But the reality is that Aer Lingus is a minnow in a world of eagles and it has to be bought by somebody if it is to avoid the disastrous fate of Alitalia and many other flag carriers before it.
It is interesting to see the perception people have of Ireland’s biggest airline. There is an assumption that because Ryanair does one particular thing well, or a particular way, that it cannot do anything else.
There are so many cost efficiencies Aer Lingus could enjoy as part of a strategic relationship with Ryanair. i don’t understand why frequent fliers don’t talk about that fact. In the withering realm of commercial aviation, Aer Lingus as a standalone brand can only get smaller. Without a bigger player in its mix, Aer Lingus will fall away. Your Alitalia example is just one of many in the real world.
I think that Aer Lingus may have been planning a strategic link-up with Alitalia.
To be fair, the Alitalia story is a lot more varied and complex than is being suggested here. It had one profitable year since it was set up in 1946 and was being completely carried by cash injections from the government. It went bust largely because the EU prevented the Italian government from continuing to support the airline (and took them to court for continuing to do it).
Although I agree with Bernie, that a strategic partnership with *someone* would help bolster Aer Lingus’ position, I think any comparison between Aer Lingus and Alitalia is just a little alarmist.
I think that Alitalia went bust for the traditional, old fashioned reason, because it never made any money. This is the same thing as is going to happen to Aer Lingus if they don’t cop on.