Irish airline Ryanair said Sean Coyle, its director of scheduled revenue, had resigned to become chief financial officer of Aer Lingus Group in which Ryanair holds a 29 per cent stake.

Aer Lingus said in a separate statement yesterday that Mr Coyle would join the group on August 11.

Ryanair Holdings plc is engaged in the provision of a scheduled airline service across a European route network. During the fiscal year ended March 31, last year, it took delivery of 30 new aircraft, bringing the fleet to 133 aircraft.

During the same year, Ryanair opened 153 new routes and three new bases at Marseille, Madrid and Bremen. Dublin and Stansted are two of its largest bases. Scheduled revenues comprise the invoiced value of airline and other service. During fiscal year 2007, Ryanair acquired a 25.2 per cent interest in Aer Lingus plc, an Irish airline. Ryanair increased its stake in Aer Lingus plc by a further 4.2 per cent.