One person who may be hoping that Aer Arann manages to soar above its current turbulence is none other than former US president Bill Clinton.
On a recent visit to the Republic, the regional airline presented him with return tickets on all its Aer Arann Express routes, including return flights from Dublin to Galway, Dublin to Donegal, Dublin to Sligo, and Knock to Dublin.
Aer Arann, which was awarded the tender to operate these routes at the beginning of the year, told the Department of Public Enterprise that it could not guarantee the services from next month.
It said the aviation landscape had changed and costs were rising.
It gets £8.75 million (€11 million) a year towards operating the routes.
This resulted in the Department readvertising the tenders - on legal and EU advice - on a temporary basis.
The only company to retender was... Aer Arann.
The routes will be advertised for tender again in six months. Perhaps Mr Clinton should get a move on if he intends to use those tickets.
At least one airline has signalled an interest in submitting a tender at that stage.
