AER LINGUS RETURNS TO PROFIT BUT THE OUTLOOK IS WORRYING TO SAY THE LEAST

Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus has announced it returned to profit in 2010 following two years of operating losses. The airline recorded an operating profit before exceptional items of €57.6 million from an €81 million loss for the same period last year. Christoph Mueller, chief executive of Aer Lingus called the results gratifying, which demonstrated all the corrective actions initiated by the airline in 2009 delivered results last year. “Aer Lingus is now on a much firmer footing than at the start of 2010,” he said, but added that there was still “a lot of work to be done inside