Ryanair is pursuing its strategy of forming partnerships to offer its passengers connecting long-haul flights. Last February, Norwegian CEO Bjorn Kjos told CNN that he was discussing a tie-up with Ryanair to promote connectivity between the two airlines' flights. The Irish low-cost carrier's short- and medium-haul network would feed Norwegian's transatlantic routes, while Ryanair would be able to offer long-haul destinations.
However, even before this partnership becomes a reality, probably in the second half of 2017, the Irish airline has just signed a similar agreement with Air Europa. While travellers can already book tickets for the Spanish carrier on the Ryanair website, connecting flights in Madrid will only be available later in the year and will cover 20 destinations to the American continent, including New York, Boston and Miami in the United States, as well as Havana, Cancun, Punta Cana, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires, among others.
Air Europa, which is also a member of SkyTeam, has doubled its connectivity by adding 53 European destinations.
"We are continuing to discuss connecting flight partnerships with a number of long-haul airlines and hope to offer our 130 million customers even greater choice in 2018."Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary explained on the occasion of this partnership. Last April, the Irish daily Independent reported that Kenny Jacobs, Ryanair's Chief Marketing Officer, was considering a similar tie-up with Aer Lingus, but also with the other companies in the IAG group, i.e. British Airways, Iberia and Vueling, and why not with Lufthansa and Air France-KLM.
Before its bankruptcy, Alitalia was also a partner considered by the Irish low-cost airline. This explains why, today, Ryanair's name often comes up alongside that of the Chinese group HNA among the possible buyers of the Italian airline, even if the prospect of its liquidation is far from being ruled out. The Irish airline has a strong presence in Italy. On 17 May, from its base in Rome Fiumicino, Ryanair launched its first connecting flights within its own network, from Rome to Alicante, Barcelona, Bari, Brussels, Catania, Comiso, Malta and Palermo.
