Ryanair is reported to be "closing in" on deals which would see it consolidate its dominant position in Europe's short-haul travel market.

It is believed to be working on agreements with major European airlines, including Aer Lingus, Norwegian Air, Lufthansa and Alitalia according to Bloomberg, which would see RA provide short-haul feeder flights for its rivals' long-haul services.

"The upside for us is in persuading the legacy carriers to stop trying to compete with us on short-haul because it feeds their long-haul ... Work with us on short haul, you lose less money, I’ll have less competition," CEO Michael O'Leary commented.

This could lead to customers booking a flight with one of these carriers through the legacy brand's website, while Ryanair would operate the short-haul part of the trip, bringing flyers to these companies' long-haul hubs.

Michael O'Leary argues that this would be a 'win win' agreement.

"There’s nothing but upside for the legacy carriers in this, except you’ve got to persuade them it’s not some scam," he added, speaking in Brussels.

He cited the example of RA and Aer Lingus competing on tight-margin routes for Dublin as an example of a situation where working together could allow both companies to play to their strengths.

Commenting on transatlantic services he reiterated his stance that the airline will stick to short haul flights in the coming years, until, "Boeing and Airbus have 80 or 100 spare slots for long-haul aircraft that they desperately want to shift at a low cost." If that situation arises the company will "jump" at the opportunity.