LONDON (Reuters) - Irish airlines Aer Lingus and Ryanair (I:RYA) are still in talks for the budget carrier Ryanair to provide feeder services for Aer Lingus's long-haul flights, and the head of parent company IAG (L:ICAG) believes a deal is still possible.
"We continue to have dialogue with Ryanair at Dublin. Personally, I see no reason why we can't reach a sensible commercial agreement with Ryanair," IAG Chief Executive Willie Walsh said at an investor conference on Friday.
Ryanair's chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs said earlier this week that he expected his airline to strike a deal to provide transfer traffic for one of Europe's long-haul carriers at some point next year.
Using low-cost carriers for feeder flights could be a cost effective way for some long-haul operators to bring more passengers into their hubs for their flights, but so far no deal has been struck as the parties try to agree terms over revenue and how to manage missed connections.