Ryanair plans to sue Aer Lingus

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary is attempting to rally shareholder support to prevent Aer Lingus contributing further to an employee pension scheme.

CIARA O'BRIEN

Ryanair said it plans to take action against Aer Lingus to stop the airline making additional contributions to its pension scheme without shareholder approval.

Ryanair, which owns almost 30 per cent of Aer Lingus, stated its intentions in an open letter from chief executive Michael O'Leary to fellow shareholders released to the Irish Stock Exchange today.

The former flag carrier's pension scheme has a deficit of at least €400 million. Ryanair has sought assurances from the airline that it will not make further contributions to the scheme over its current fixed contribution rate of just under 6.4 per cent, and has also tried to force the airline to call an extraordinary general meeting to discuss the matter. 

The letter comes days after Aer Lingus released a statement to the Irish Stock Exchange that confirmed it had no obligation to increase its employer contribution to the IASS above its current fixed rate.

"However, the group believes that it is in the best interests of Aer Lingus, its shareholders and employees to constructively engage with the above named parties in order to address the issues represented by the funding shortfall in the IASS," the statement, published on January 30th, said. 

Mr O'Leary said Ryanair would take legal action to prevent the company from contributing further in an effort to fill the hole in the pension fund. He urged fellow shareholders to make their views on the matter known to both Ryanair and Aer Lingus.

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