Is time running out for TEAM Aer Lingus? There is still no sign of a breakthrough in talks between management and unions and Danish company FLS must surely be starting to get fed up. It is a wonder, in fact, that FLS has not already decided to walk away; the one consolation to be taken from the saga is that to have hung around for so long, FLS must genuinely believe that it can make a go out of what has been a constant loss-maker for Aer Lingus.
The Government and Aer Lingus management have upped the ante considerably and the threat of closure now hangs over TEAM, if the FLS deal does not go through. The question now is whether any room for compromise can be found between fresh union demands and management's position. On the face of it, there is no easy way forward, with the unions looking for fresh concessions and a commitment that no more than 49 per cent of the airline be sold, while management says that the FLS offer to buy 100 per cent is the only way forward.
The only other expression of interest is from the McEvaddy brothers whose companies have significant airline interests, but Aer Lingus management does not appear to believe that this is a runner. So if the FLS deal falls through it may come down to a choice between closure, or the continuation of TEAM as a constant drain on Aer Lingus and a millstone which no potential strategic alliance partner for the group will want to touch. And a strategic alliance partner for the airline is a crucial part of its plan for the future.
But would the Government be prepared to bite the bullet and close TEAM, if it came to it? Some 1,500 are employed there, of whom 400 plus have no letters of guaranteed employment with the group. The remainder, however, are Aer Lingus employees - assuming the letters are valid.
