Aer Lingus Chairman, Mr Tom Mulcahy, today announced the appointment of Willie Walsh as Chief Executive with immediate effect.

Willie Walsh (39) is currently Chief Operations Officer in the airline. He joined Aer Lingus in 1979 as a cadet pilot. He has held a number of senior management positions in Aer Lingus including Chief Executive of Futura, the airline`s Spanish based charter airline subsidiary between 1998 and 2000.

In making the appointment Mr Mulcahy said “I am confident that Willie Walsh with his strong reputation for driving change combined with an intimate knowledge of the airline business will lead Aer Lingus through the fundamental restructuring required to build a strong, flexible and viable business capable of operating successfully in today`s transformed airline industry environment.”

In accepting the appointment, Willie Walsh said “We now have a strategy which, when implemented in full, will allow us to build a business capable of serving our customers` needs and with the cost base and flexibility to develop as the industry recovers. This is a critical stage for the company and my immediate priority is to move ahead with the urgent implementation of the restructuring plan.”

The Board of Aer Lingus met yesterday, Thursday, and authorised the Management of the Company to progress the restructuring plan with all relevant parties.

Mr Walsh will lead the Aer Lingus Management team outlining the Company`s plan to all Aer Lingus staff and union representatives in a series of briefings and meetings, commencing today, Friday.

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