Aer Lingus (EI, Dublin International) has signed a co-operation agreement with one-time shareholder Ryanair (FR, Dublin International) wherein the two Irish carriers will offer connecting flights across each other's networks.

"We are capitalising on and leveraging the fact that Dublin International is a very good location for transatlantic travel," Declan Kearney, director of communications for Aer Lingus, told the Irish Independent following a signing ceremony this past weekend.

The deal will see Ryanair feeding continental European traffic into Aer Lingus's transatlantic services while Aer Lingus will, in turn, connect onto Ryanair's services to various European destinations.

Ryanair has already signed a similar accord with Spain's Air Europa (UX, Palma de Mallorca) wherein Ryanair sells tickets for the Spanish carrier's transatlantic flights to Latin and North America. The next phase of the partnership will see Ryanair feeding traffic into Air Europa's Madrid Barajas hub.