Ryanair and Norwegian reach feeder flights “agreement in principle”

In a recent interview to The Independent (Ireland), Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said that the two low cost airlines Ryanair and Norwegian Air Shuttle, which are usually fierce competitors,  have reached an “agreement in principle” by which the Irish airline would provide feeder flights for the long haul flights of the Scandinavian carrier out of European airports like London Gatwick and Copenhagen.

Ryanair connects Alicante, Belfast, Cork, Dublin, Kaunas, Seville and Shannon with London Gatwich while Norwegian’s long haul services from there include flights to Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, New York JFK, Oakland, Orlando, and San Juan. A similar deal is being developed for Copenhagen.

The two airlines have already begun working on aligning their booking systems to provide the feeder service.

The Irish subsidiary of Norwegian, Norwegian Air International, hopes to receive from the US FAA a controversial permit that will allow it to commence flights from Cork to Boston this summer.

Ryanair itself intends to introduce interlining at the airports of Gatwick and Barcelona on a trial basis.