Irish budget airline Ryanair will propose large pay cuts for the chairman of rival carrier Aer Lingus and his non-executive directors at the group’s annual meeting, Aer Lingus said on Thursday.

Ryanair, which owns nearly 30 percent of Aer Lingus, has a fractious relationship with the former state carrier, which it has twice tried to take over via hostile bids.

Ryanair is proposing that the pay of Aer Lingus chairman Colin Barrington be cut from EUR175,000 euros (USD$241,200) received in 2008 back to the EUR35,000 level earned by his predecessor in 2006.

The group is also proposing that the remuneration of non-executive directors be cut from EUR45,000 to EUR17,500, the level earned in 2006.

Source: Reuters

Well, they do own nearly 30% of a majorly loss making company, wouldn’t you want to see something done to curb the expenditure, especially from people who have arguably made mis-guided decisions?