CAIRO: Emirati carrier, Etihad Airways, has confirmed on Tuesday it had acquired a 2.987 percent stake in Aer Lingus, the flag carrier of Ireland, which operates a fleet of Airbus aircraft serving Europe, North America and North Africa, according to a press release. “A possible partnership could produce significant commercial benefits for both airlines, we operates 10 flights a week from Abu Dhabi to Dublin and has carried more than 750,000 passengers between the two capitals since it began flying the route in July, 2007,” said the statement. Aer Lingus is Ireland's oldest extant airline, and its second largest after low-cost rival Ryanair. Formed in 1936, Aer Lingus has codeshares with Oneworld, Star Alliance and SkyTeam members, as well as interline agreements with Aer Arann, JetBlue Airways and United Airlines. The company employs 4,000 people and in 2011 had revenues of €1.2 billion. Etihad Airways, a state-owned company, has strategic codeshare partnerships with 34 airlines around the world