]Ryanair (RYA.I) is in talks about providing connecting flights to AlItalia's long-haul services and has raised objections with German authorities about a Lufthansa-Air Berlin tie-up, as it tries to ease its expansion in continental Europe.
But it is unlikely to look to acquisitions to fuel that growth due to inefficiencies at rivals and the fact most have Airbus (AIR.PA) fleets, rather than Boeing (BA.N) planes as used by Ryanair, CEO Michael O'Leary told Reuters in an interview.
Ryanair is currently in talks with AlItalia about providing feeder flights to its long-haul hubs in a deal that could help the Italian flag carrier curb losses on short-haul flights.
"We can help them by offering them cheap feed, low-cost feed into their hubs ... but that means taking out aircraft, people, and that's very difficult politically in Italy," O'Leary said. "We are still talking to them."