Aer Lingus urges 'No' vote

Aer Lingus has written to shareholders in the company urging them to vote against the resolutions being tabled by Ryanair at the Aer Lingus AGM on June 5. Ryanair has stated that it wants to have three resolutions on, namely :

1. That the Chairman's remuneration be reduced from €175,000 per annum to €35,000 per annum.

2. That the remuneration for non executive directors be reduced from €45,000 per annum to €17,500.

3. That resignation bonuses for the airline's executives be subject to shareholder approval at a general meeting.

Aer Lingus has agreed to allow items 1 and 2 be put to a vote but says that approving item 3 would require a change to the company's articles of association and has therefore ruled it out off the agenda.

In urging a 'No' vote, Aer Lingus says that the Chairman and non executive directors undertook a voluntary 20% drop in fees earlier this year. It also states that directors' workload and responsibility have increased since the 2006 IPO, thereby justifying the increase which occurred in the interim.

In the event of non attendance at the AGM, Aer Lingus has asked shareholders to appoint the Chairman, who will be voting against the proposal, to act as their proxy.

In proposing the amendments last week, Ryanair stated that it's Chairman received no fee whatsoever for his non executive role in the running of the LCC.