Ryanair eyes feeder role for long-haul routes

London

LEGACY airlines such as British Airways, Air France-KLM and Lufthansa could soon start using low-cost carriers like Ryanair and easyJet to feed people onto their long-haul routes, say Ryanair executives.

Michael O'Leary, chief executive of Europe's biggest low-cost airline Ryanair, has said that the days are numbered for how much longer national flag-carriers can operate intra-European flights because it is too expensive for them to compete on these point-to-point routes.

"In Europe in the next five or 10 years, I think the low-cost carriers, mostly ourselves and easyJet will do a lot more feeding of major airlines," Mr O'Leary said at a news conferencein L…