"Well lets hope Aer Lingus irons out all the wrinkles"
Tony2F,
While I appreciate your quote above, I think it has been stated over and over and over again with Aer Lingus. Similar situation at Alitalia. At some point, the Irish Government will realize that you just can't keep beating a dead horse. Yes, Aer Lingus is becoming a dead horse. It can't compete. It's strategies are defensive and money-losing. It can't compete effectively against Ryanair on routes because of its higher cost structure. How will Aer Lingus ever regain its competitive edge and make the necessary profits? Add to this the various American airlines (AA, Delta, CAL) serving Ireland from the US and making those transatlantic routes less lucrative. It's a tough business when you don't have a cost structure that promotes profits... The Irish Gov't should acknowledge this and consider a change. Ryanair has a strong record and it is a major shareholder... Aer Lingus can't always operate as a Gov't jobs program where people always feel entitled to their jobs regardless of the competitive realities - especially in this tough economy.
I agree that the prospect of working for Ryanair can be negative for many people given the CEO's reputation and some of the ridiculous cadet schemes out there. Therefore, some sort of accomodation would obviously need to be made for current Aer Lingus pilots for that to work. Perhaps some fences on widebody equipment initially and a clearer salary scheme for all with seniority protection (I am sure this would all be very complex to figure out - I am no expert on merging pilot groups). That said, it would be worth it for Ryanair because they could expand their market within Ireland (and to/from the UK and the Continent) and have access to a Transatlantic operation (leverage it for their own LCC operation). If moving forward would mean compromising with some union groups (both sides would have to be accomodative), perhaps this could become a reality and the end result would be a very strong operation with healthy employment vs. a weak, dithering national carrier... In this economy, you never know what could happen. Just remember, Alitalia didn't last long as a standalone carrier with its chronic losses.
I don't claim to have all the answers. This is just my opinion/perspective. Aer Lingus is always losing money and it can't stand out in the crowd like it once did. Ryanair, like it or not, is a winning carrier with a very strong operation. It might be time for a change.