Aer Lingus ponders alliance role

Aer Lingus is considering its future as a member of the Oneworld airline alliance as the carrier attempts to develop a new long-haul strategy.

The airline's chief executive Dermot Mannion, who took up his post in August, will meet fellow Oneworld executives next month in Dallas and will tell them the airline is actively reviewing its membership.

"Our membership is not cast in stone. I am adopting very much a wait-and-see position on whether it has sufficient benefits for us," said Mr Mannion.

He said in his previous role as president of group support services at Emirates, there were no linkages with airline alliances.

"I have no experience of them to be honest. Emirates was fiercely independent," he said.

While some members of the alliance want Aer Lingus to continue providing short-haul traffic into their networks, Mr Mannion has made new long-haul routes his goal. This approach has the backing of the Government, particularly the Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen.

The former Aer Lingus chief executive, Willie Walsh, considered leaving the alliance last year, but fellow chief executives persuaded him to remain.

However, Mr Mannion revealed that Aer Lingus is not in compliance with the several parts of the membership code of the Oneworld alliance. "There are certain policies and procedural matters we are expected to follow, but we have not been following," Mr Mannion said.

It is understood these are mainly related to corporate branding. For example, the Oneworld alliance requires its members to clearly display the Oneworld logo on all check-in desks and business cards.

Mr Mannion said there was another, arguably more serious, reason for taking a fresh look at links with the Oneworld group.

"I think one of the reasons some members want us to stay is because we provide traffic into the large international hubs like Heathrow. But we in Aer Lingus would like to think we can offer more than just a short-haul feed."

He added: "There has to be more benefit from membership of the Oneworld alliance than just that."

However, he conceded that other chief executives from the alliance were very keen to see Aer Lingus remain a member. One of the benefits of membership is that Aer Lingus is able to code share with fellow airlines. Mr Mannion said it might be possible to retain these arrangements even without membership.

Any decision by Aer Lingus to depart could meet some resistance from passengers. Aer Lingus frequent fliers can earn valuable TAB points by flying with other Oneworld airlines. Some travellers with Oneworld airlines are also allowed use the Aer Lingus Gold Circle and premier business lounges.

The current members of the alliance are: American Airlines, British Airways, Lan of Chile, Qantas, Iberia, Cathay Pacific and Finnair. While Aer Lingus is reviewing its future membership, some airlines are attempting to join, including Hungarian carrier Malev.