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AER LINGUS GROUP PLC - ANNUAL REPORT 2008
48
1. Basis of preparation and general information
Introduction
Aer Lingus Group plc (“the Company”) and its subsidiaries (together “the Group”) operates as a low fares Irish airline primarily
providing passenger and cargo transportation services from Ireland to the UK and Europe (“short haul”) and also to the US (“long
haul”). The Company is a public limited liability company incorporated and domiciled in Ireland. The address of its registered office
is Dublin Airport, Co Dublin, Ireland. The Company has its primary listing on the Irish Stock Exchange and a secondary listing on the
London Stock Exchange.
These financial statements were authorised for issue by the Board of Directors on 27 April 2009. The financial statements are for the
Group for the financial years ended 31 December 2008 and 31 December 2007. The principal companies within the Group during
the years ended 31 December 2008 and 31 December 2007 are disclosed in Note 11.
Basis of preparation
The financial statements of Aer Lingus Group plc, which are presented in euros and rounded to the nearest thousand (€’000), have
been prepared in accordance with EU adopted International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), International Financial Reporting
Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) interpretations and those parts of the Companies Acts 1963 to 2006 applicable to companies
reporting under IFRS. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, as modified by the
revaluation of available-for-sale financial assets and derivative financial instruments.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with IFRS requires the use of certain critical accounting estimates and
assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the
reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Although these estimates are based on management’s
best knowledge of the amount, event or actions, actual results ultimately may differ from those estimates. The areas involving a
higher degree of judgement or complexity, or areas where assumptions and estimates are significant to the consolidated financial
statements, are disclosed in paragraph 2.22 below.
(a) Amendments and interpretations effective in 2008
IAS 39 (Amendment) Financial instruments: Recognition and Measurement permits reclassification of certain financial assets out
of the held for trading and available-for-sale categories if specified conditions are met. The related amendment to IFRS 7 Financial
Instruments: Disclosures, introduces disclosure requirements with respect to financial assets reclassified out of held for trading and
available-for-sale categories. The amendment is effective prospectively from 1 July 2008. The Group adopted the amendment to
IAS 39 on the effective date. See note 12 for the effect of the amendment on the Group’s financial statements.
IFRIC 11 IFRS 2 – Group and Treasury Share Transactions provides guidance on whether Share based transactions involving
treasury shares or involving Group entities (for example, options over a parent’s shares) should be accounted for as equity-settled or
cash-settled Share based payment transactions in the stand-alone accounts of the parent and Group companies. This interpretation
does not have an impact on the Group’s financial statements.
IFRIC 12 Service Concession Arrangements applies to contractual arrangements whereby a private sector operator participates in
the development, financing, operation and maintenance of infrastructure for public sector services. As the Group is not a service
concession operator IFRIC 12 is not relevant to the Group’s activities.
IFRIC 14 IAS 19 – The Limit on a Defined Benefit Asset, Minimum Funding Requirements and their Interaction provides guidance
on assessing the limit in IAS 19 on the amount of the surplus that can be recognised as an asset. It also explains how the pension
asset or liability may be affected by a statutory or contractual minimum funding requirement. As the Group does not have any
pension arrangements which are categorised as defined benefit schemes IFRIC 14 is not relevant to the Group’s activities.
(b) Standards, interpretations and amendments to existing standards that are not yet effective and have not been early adopted
by the Group
The following standards, interpretations and amendments to existing standards have been published and are mandatory for future
accounting periods, but the Group has not early adopted them:
• AmendmenttoIFRS1(Revised)First time adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards and IAS 27 Consolidated and
Separate Financial Statements (effective for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2009). The amended standard
allows first-time adopters to use a deemed cost of either fair value or the carrying amount under previous accounting practice
Basis of Preparation and Statement of
Accounting Policies