Ryanair's chief executive has predicted that rival budget airline easyJet could get bought over by Aer Lingus parent company IAG.
Speaking on the sidelines of a CEO roundtable event in Brussels, Michael O'Leary forecast more consolidation in the aviation industry, with IAG best placed to buy Portugal's TAP ahead of rivals Air France-KLM and Lufthansa.
He expressed surprise that Air France-KLM had bought a stake in Scandinavian SAS.
He also reiterated predictions that low-cost rivals Wizz Air and easyJet would fall to consolidation, with easyJet snapped up by IAG or Air France-KLM, or both, and Wizz Air getting bought by Lufthansa or a Middle Eastern buyer.
"Riyadh [Air] have lots of plans, but they have no access to aircraft," he said.
The comments drew a frosty response from easyJet. Other carriers were not immediately available for comment.
"Millions of consumers in Europe will be relieved to hear there is no realistic prospect of Ryanair becoming the only low cost airline in Europe," an easyJet spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, the head of IAG told reporters that there was a more than a 90 per cent risk that the industry would not meet a European Union mandate for the availability of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in 2025.
The European Union has adopted rules requiring flights departing from EU airports to carry a progressively increasing amount of SAF, starting with 2 per cent of total fuel in 2025.
Luis Gallego said Europe's tougher rules, compared to other regions, risked making its fragmented industry less competitive, putting pressure on airlines to continue a recent wave of partnerships.
"The problem we have in Europe is we have a small group or a small airline competing in a global war with mandates of sustainability that are ahead of others. We are not going to be competitive," Mr Gallego said.
"So we need to consolidate the industry, you know, in order to afford all these, for example, sustainability ambitions that we have. And that's the reason why we are trying to be bigger, more efficient, and to develop better platforms for our customers."
Separately, Mr O'Leary said bookings to Israel have collapsed and it is up to governments to decide if airlines keep flying there.
Mr Gallego said IAG had decided to cancel Israel flights for three weeks to see how the situation unfolds after British Airways diverted a flight on Wednesday due to security concerns.
