That would truly be an audacious move. You can pick an airline up at rockbottom prices in the current economic climate in Europe.
For Aer Lingus to expand into mainland europe, taking over a european airline would catapult it into the big league like Ryanair.
Personally, I thought they should have bid for BMI but too late for that now.
Closer to home, possibly they are looking at Cityjet to expand in London and Paris and also to feed into their main hub in Dublin like Aer Lingus Regional.
Time will tell.