Aer Lingus welcomes UK court victory over Ryanair

[mhm]

DUBLIN (AP) — Aer Lingus welcomed a court victory Tuesday that permits British authorities to keep investigating Ryanair over its ownership of a 30 percent stake in Aer Lingus, a sore point between Ireland's two major carriers.

Ryanair sought to block the probe into whether its status as the No. 1 shareholder in Aer Lingus represents a threat to competition on British-Irish air services. Ryanair lawyers argued that Britain's Office of Fair Trading had no jurisdiction to investigate two Dublin-based airlines, and that the probe launched in 2010 came too late.

But the Court of Appeal in London sided with the Office of Fair Trading and Aer Lingus, which wants Ryanair to be forced to sell. Ryanair built its stake as part of a hostile 2006 takeover bid that was blocked both by European Union regulators and Ireland's government, which retains a 25 percent stake.

Ryanair said it would appeal Tuesday's judgment to the UK Supreme Court.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary says he expects eventually to purchase the government's stake to take control of Aer Lingus because of Ireland's rapid descent to the brink of bankruptcy, culminating in a 2010 international bailout. Ireland insists it won't sell its shares because an Aer Lingus-Ryanair merger would stifle competition on Ireland's air links to Europe.

Aer Lingus accuses Ryanair of being a disruptive presence inside the company since its surprise takeover bid was thwarted. The aggressive no-frills carrier has repeatedly criticized Aer Lingus' handling of costs, labor relations and corporate governance but does not have any votes in the boardroom.

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