'He never fails to surprise, that man - it's incredible.'This was the reaction of a prominent Irish bookmaker to the shocking news that Ryanair,Europe's leading budget airline, led by its CEO Michael O'Leary, had launched a €1.48bn (El.OZbn)bid for its Irish rival, Aer Lingus, just a week after the flotation of the legacy national earner.' Kyanairrevealed that it had already procured 19.2 per cent of the shares through its stockbroker, Davy, and claimed that its all-cash offer of 62.80 a share represented a 27 per cent premium over the flotation price of C2.20. It intended to retain the Aer Lingus brand and up-grade their dated long-haul product, and reduce their short-haul fares by 2.5 per cent per year for a minimum of 4 years . .. the combination of Aer Lingus and Ryanair into one strong Irish airline group will be rewarding for consumers and will enable both to vigorously compete with the mega carriers in Europe . . .there are significant opportunities, by combining Diepurchasing power of Ryanair and Aer Lingus, to substantially reduce its operating costs, increase efficiencies,and pass these savings on in the form of lower fares to Aer Lingus' consumers.