Aer Lingus buys more aircraft

The new aircraft are part of the airlines expansion plans with the long-haul aircraft expected to be used on transatlantic routes.

Aer Lingus's chairman, John Sharman told shareholders "The board believes that the Aer Lingus purchase agreement underpins Aer Lingus' growth strategy".

The airline, which was once government owned said recently that it would not give a profit estimate for the year due to the economic outlook and rising oil prices which put immense pressure on profitability.

In 2007, Ryanair's bid to take-over Aer Lingus was blocked by the European Commission on competition grounds. Aer Lingus tried to force Ryanair to reduce its holding in the company to lower than 29% - which was also blocked by the European Commission.

Aer Lingus currently operates 7 direct flights to US destinations, has also started a partnership with JetBlue and earlier in April signed a code-share agreement with US airline, United Airlines.

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