Christoph Mueller has warned the Irish government not to sell its 25% stake in Aer Lingus to a larger rival.
The ceo of the Irish national carrier said such a move could undermine its business model by damaging partnerships and forcing up costs.
Mueller told a meeting with investors that he would prefer a sale to an institutional investor as this would let the carrier stay out of the major airline alliances and hold onto to its bilateral deals.
"We make money on our neutrality. When the government stake is discussed... before we jump to the conclusion of a trade buyer we should be very careful," Mueller told the meeting with investors.
"Neutrality is a big bottom-line contributor for carriers of our nature,"
His plea comes a week after the Irish transport minister Leo Varadkar said the government had had interest from both airlines and investment firms in its stake.
Aer Lingus, a former member of the oneworld alliance, has twice fought off hostile takeover bids from its bitter rival Ryanair.
But the low cost airline has said it would sell its 30% stake in Aer Lingus if a major carrier wanted to take control.
No airline has so far done so with Willie Walsh, a former ceo of Aer Lingus and now in a similar role with the International Airlines Group, formed after the merger of BA and Iberia, expressly ruling it out.