* Loss after tax widens to 73.9 million euros; record opg loss
* Strong downward pressure on fares, net cash drops 33 percent
* Warns on aircraft financing difficulties
* Says Ryanair tie-up not ruled out
* Aer Lingus shares up over 3 percent
(Adds Ryanair CEO, Aer Lingus chairman comments)
By Andras Gergely
DUBLIN, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Irish airline Aer Lingus toned down its opposition to a deal with arch-rival Ryanair, saying on Thursday a tripling of losses, rapid cash burn and difficulties in raising funds threatened its independence.
The former state airline has twice rejected bids from Europe's biggest low-cost carrier but Sean Coyle, Aer Lingus' chief financial officer and a former Ryanair executive, said he had "no idea" if Aer Lingus would resist a third approach.
"Ryanair will always come back with a bid, Ryanair from the point of view of having a (near) 30 percent shareholding will continue to pursue the company," Coyle told reporters.
Ryanair's chief executive issued a statement criticising the reliability of Aer Lingus' earnings forecasts but he did not mention the prospect of a new offer.
A new Aer Lingus chief executive, Christoph Mueller, takes over next week after the previous incumbent resigned in April saying the airline needed fresh ideas.
Shares in the carrier rose nearly 5 percent on the prospect of a major cost cutting programme, which it said would help it remain independent for the moment.
"If they can get significant restructuring through that will be perceived as a positive," one Dublin-based trader said.
Aer Lingus said its bankers were refusing to lend for fresh aircraft deliveries because of the way it is using up cash.
"No bank is prepared to lend money to an airline that is burning through 400 million euros ($569.4 million) of net cash in a 12 month period as we have done," Coyle said.
Aer Lingus' net cash position has fallen by a third since the end of 2008 and by almost half in 12 months to 439.6 million euros in late June. Aer Lingus stock traded at 0.53 euro at 1330 GMT, valuing the airline at around 271 million euros, a fraction of the 750 million Ryanair offered for the group in December and the 1.5 billion euros it tabled in 2006.
Ryanair rose around half a percent.
"AGGRESSIVE SHAREHOLDER"
Aer Lingus' loss after tax in the six months to the end of June widened 242 percent to nearly 74 million euros ($106 million) on revenue down 12 percent to 555 million.
Its operating loss quadrupled to a record 93 million euros -- a total which a spokesman for the airline said analysts expected to reach between 100 million and 150 million euros by the end of 2009, though there was no guidance from the company itself.
"If that's the level of the loss then we can see what we need to save in terms of cost savings," the spokesman said.
A source close to the company told Reuters on Tuesday Aer Lingus was preparing a cost-cutting plan of up to 130 million euros for this autumn. Coyle said a plan would be finalised before the end of this year.
The former flag carrier, facing strong downward pressure on fares and weak consumer demand going forward, has struggled to compete against Ryanair, which has used the industry's lowest cost base to snatch market share across Europe.
Aer Lingus Chairman Colm Barrington said it would be hard to cooperate with an "aggressive shareholder" like Ryanair.
"We've thought of it, we've thought of ways of in which it could happen but we haven't managed to make any of those things happen to date," Barrington said.
With major players Air France-KLM, Deutsche Lufthansa and British Airways tied up in other deals or problems of their own however, analysts see few suitors besides Ryanair, which last month trimmed its own full-year profit forecast in the face of falling fares. (Additional reporting Carmel Crimmins; Editing by David Holmes and Jon Loades-Carter) ($1=.6983 Euro)