Irish airline Aer Lingus said on Wednesday an attempt by Ryanair to buy the company was likely to fail, and pointed to a jump in profits last year as proof it could flourish on its own.
Ryanair's biggest obstacle is the risk that its proposed €694 million takeover could be blocked by European competition authorities and it wants British airline Flybe to take over some Aer Lingus routes to allay their concerns.
But Aer Lingus management said the plan, which would effectively create a new Irish airline, was unrealistic. The European Commission is due to make a decision by March 6.
"It seems to me so far fetched, this proposition, that we don't bother wasting our time on it," the Aer Lingus chief executive Christoph Mueller said.
"We question very much that Flybe will be an independent competitor to Ryanair and we are working from the assumption that we will be around next year when we talk" at Aer Lingus's 2013 results announcement, he said.
Mueller was speaking after Aer Lingus announced operating profit of €69.1m, up 40 per cent from last year. That was slightly above a consensus forecast of €66.1m by seven analysts polled by Reuters.
It said yields per passenger were up 7 per cent from last year while passenger numbers were up 1.5 per cent at €9.5m.
* Reuters
