Aer Lingus started out last year with more cash than CRH, the most valuable company in the country. The airline's balance sheet was the envy of the European aviation industry, prompting speculation that if Ryanair was prepared to sell its stake, Air France-KLM, British Airways or Lufthansa would swoop, taking the cash pile, the slots at Heathrow and a relatively new Airbus fleet.

In private, management was most keen on the idea of linking up with one of the European 'big three', but they admitted that unless the balance sheet was protected and the cash insulated, bidding interest was likely to be zero. As it has turned out the cash was not protected, talk of outside interest ended, Ryanair remained stranded on the share register and the airline itself lost its chief executive.

Who was to blame for this wasted year is not clear. Some believe the board, some say the management, some claim the chief executive. Either way Dermot Mannion became the scapegoat and walked the management plank after the institutions demand some kind of change in strategy.

Cash at the opening of 2008 was €803m; it has now dwindled to €440m. Without this cash the airline would be in very serious financial difficulty, possibly seeking state assistance or an emergency rights issue. The prop of the cash leaves the carrier looking like a zombie operation, a state of disrepair more common to the world of international banking.

However finally the rot is going to be stopped, says chairman Colm Barrington and a new cost cutting plan is being pieced together. An unknown chief executive, at least in these parts, Christophe Mueller is the man chosen to implement the plan. The former TUI Travel executive is going to be dealing with implacable unions and a government that couldn't even stomach the decision of Mannion to cut flights from Shannon to Heathrow.

The chances of an outside suitor are now effectively gone. GDP figures showing Ireland's economy shrinking by 8% this year will put off any potential buyer. Air France, for example, has problems of its own and has just pulled out of a bidding contest for Czech Airlines. When previously asked by the EU Commission outside airlines have pointed to Ryanair's firm hold on the Irish market as a key reason for staying away.

The only hope for Aer Lingus now is either to accept a third Ryanair bid (not likely) or to implement a ferocious cost-cutting plan designed to preserve cash and weather the next two years of economic retrenchment.

Can Mueller do it? The way the stock is trading puts a value of €290m on the company, well below the underlying value of its aircraft, its slots and the cash it holds, even by the end of this year. Clearly the market – at this point – does not believe Mueller can stop the haemorrhaging. It's up to him to prove them wrong.