O'Céidigh told the Sunday Tribune last week that a shortlist of three candidates has been prepared for the job and that a successor will be appointed towards the end of May.

O'Céidigh will take up the role of executive chairman at the airline.

The non-executive chairman is currently former Bank of Ireland finance director Paul D'Alton, who will remain on the board.

"I'm a very entrepreneurial kind of guy, but to bring the company to a different level, a different mindset helps a lot, " said O'Céidigh. "I think there are people out there who can bring significant value-add to the company."

One of the remaining candidates is Irish, while all have strong experience in the aviation sector.

O'Céidigh acquired Aer Arann in 1994 and the operation has rapidly expanded in the past six years. It currently flies over one million passengers per annum.

He said that part of the new chief executive's task will be to expand its services further within the UK and France. He added that the company is currently in the final stages of negotiations with two aircraft manufacturers - Toulouse-based ATR, and Canadian firm Bombardier, for a �?�150m order that should be signed within the next six to eight weeks.

O'Céidigh said that "huge potential" remained for Aer Arann outside Ireland, and conceded that the company may have to consider a new name to gain greater recognition in the UK and France.

"We're not thinking of changing it at the moment, but we're not averse to a name change either, " he said. "It is possible that the airline could even operate under two names. We'd be very slow to give up the Aer Arann name because it's something that's inspirational for us, but while recognised in Ireland, it's a non-event in France."

In 2004 Aer Arann saw profit increase to �?�7.6m on revenues of �?�70m. It received an additional subsidy from the government of �?�18.5m for operating Public Service Obligation (PSO) routes. Revenue in 2003, excluding the PSO subsidy, totalled �?�44m.