Aer Lingus has moved a step closer to approving a takeover from IAG.
Its directors have released a statement saying there is a "compelling commercial logic" to allowing IAG to buy the airline.
It says the takeover would help to create jobs, enhance Ireland's connectivity to the outside world, and develop Ireland as a hub for travel between Europe and America.
The directors are not yet in a position to recommend a takeover from the IAG group, the parent of British Airways, because the group has yet to formally proceed with its bid.
While the group has announced its intentions to pay €2.55 per share to take over Aer Lingus, it has not yet begun the legal process to get the deal in motion.
However, today's statement is tantamount to a formal declaration of support for the bid, if and when it is officially made.
Once the bid has been formally commenced, the board will then have to make an official recommendation to its shareholders on whether the bid should be accepted.
Those shareholders include Ryanair, which owns a 29.9% stake, which a British court has ordered it to sell. They also include the government, which faces more practical political concerns as it decides whether to sell its 25.11% stake.
