The venture is being pursued independently of attempts to take over fellow Irish carrier Aer Lingus, something O'Leary says could still happen. However, Ryanair is not interested in the recently-privatised flag-carrier's
Airbus A330-based long-haul operation and would sell or close that to focus on Aer Lingus's "mid-price, mid-frills"
services from Dublin airport to major European airports such as
London Heathrow and
Paris Charles de Gaulle, running them separately from Ryanair.