AER Lingus is to spend about £8 million on a complete corporate redesign of its image. The present green shamrock is more than 20 years old and the company feels it needs to be revamped, according to Mr Dan Loughrey, director of corporate affairs.

The contract for the new design has been awarded to a British firm, Luxon Carra. Mr Loughrey said corporate design for airlines was highly specialised and it was preferable to hire an experienced designer rather than have a long "learning curve" with a firm without the necessary expertise.

Luxon Carra's brief has been to retain the shamrock and the green. "These are core values," according to Mr Loughrey. The design has been presented by Luxon Carra and is currently being worked on by an in house Aer Lingus design team, in the catering area alone, Aer Lingus has 300 branded items, from throwaway napkins to cups, which must be adapted to the new logo.

The aircraft exteriors will be painted in the new livery over a number of years. The £8 million figure includes the cost of repainting the fleet, according to Mr Loughrey. All Aer Lingus signs at the airports will also be changed.

AIB Group and Irish Life were heavily criticised for their use of non Irish designers in their change of corporate image. Mr Loughrey does not anticipate similar criticism of Aer Lingus since the work it commissioned is highly specialised and requires compliance with international regulatory authorities.

Aer Lingus's financial results are now due at the end of March and will show another strong performance. Mr Loughrey says the finishing legal touches are being put to a plan to give shares in the company to its 6,000 employees.

Three trustees will be appointed to represent the 5 per cent employee stake.