Aer Lingus looks at cutting as they suffer loss
Aer Lingus raised fears as in their staff as they announced that they need to cut costs across its business. The Irish airline suffered a loss of €22.8m for the first half of this year. This is down from a profit of €2.6m a year earlier. They also warned that it will not make a profit in the next six months.
Dermot Mannion chief executive of Aer Lingus, blamed the soaring price of oil and he warned “without making fundamental changes in our operating cost base” it could make a much larger loss in 2009.
As are most airlines, Aer Lingus is struggling as the global economy worsens as well as the rise in fuel costs.
An Aer Lingus spokesman said “Things will not bounce back. We are heading for a pretty difficult challenge, and we need to take a surgical look at costs across the whole business”.
He added that the airline’s cost per passenger is roughly double that of main rival Ryanair and suggested that this means there is potential to significantly cut costs out of the business.
Areas to potentially cut costs is staffing, its flight network and its existing deals with airports it flies to. The airline has already decided to cut its long-haul capacity for winter by 11% but they are only reducing its short haul flights by 1%.
The Aer Lingus spokesman added “We’re looking at a three-figure loss in 2009, potentially, if we don’t look at our costs”.
For more information on Aer Lingus visit www.aerlingus.com.