One of the obstacles to the flotation of Aer Lingus appears to have been surmounted. A proposal has been put forward by the airline and the Department of Transport to address a potential deficit of up to €340 million in the company's pension plan. The solution is both neat and obvious. The proceeds of the flotation itself will be used - in part - to resolve the problem.
There will be a once-off payment into the pension fund of about €200 million from the €800 million or so which is expected to be raised through the process. While the details still have to be worked out, the initiative makes sense.
If it is accepted by the staff and other stakeholders, then the pension fund will join the growing pile of problems which have been resolved. These include the installation of a new chief executive and the renegotiation of the bilateral aviation agreement with the United States which restricted the airline's ability to grow in its most attractive market.
The progress that has been made is such that there is talk of a sale being possible by the summer provided that market conditions remain favourable. However, a number of other not-inconsiderable issues must be resolved before this becomes a reality. The most pressing of these is the opposition of the company's staff - as represented by their unions - to the idea of a flotation. It remains to be seen if the carrot of a big lump-sum payment into the pension fund will be sufficient to overcome this. But workers at Aer Lingus will, no doubt, also take cognisance of how well the employee shareholders in Eircom have done since its sale by the State.
Yet, even if the staff come on board, the sale of the airline is still not a certainty. Despite his assertions to the contrary, considerable doubt exists as to the Taoiseach's real enthusiasm for the project. Mr Ahern has said that part of the airline will be sold, but he appears to be doing very little to make it happen.
Some would argue that he is being pragmatic and recognises that a sale could swing votes away from Fianna Fáil in north Dublin constituencies. This is a view which would be shared by many in his own party who will happily disregard the enthusiasm for the sale within the Progressive Democrats. Neither, it should be pointed out, is there anything to be gained from introducing a contentious issue such as this into the negotiations on a new national partnership. But those who wish to see the airline grow and flourish will be disappointed if further procrastination is contemplated. The company badly needs an injection of capital to purchase a new fleet and flotation is the only way that sufficient funds can be raised.