Ryanair founder Tony Ryan is in talks over a possible investment in Air Macau - a move which could help create one of Asia's first low-cost, no-frills international airlines.
Sources close to China National Aviation Co (CNAC) and Air Macau - in which CNAC, the Hong Kong-listed sister company of mainland flag carrier Air China, has a majority stake - have confirmed that talks with the Ryan family investment vehicle, Irlandia Investments, have been going on since early June.
It also emerged yesterday that Dragonair, another CNAC-controlled airline, has quietly decided to drop its legal action seeking the quashing of a licence granted to Cathay Pacific to resume flights to the mainland after a 13-year absence.
The decision is a sign the mainland aviation company may be preparing to refocus its energies on developing its airline investments in Macau.
Irlandia would be able to give Air Macau the funds to expand to more mainland and regional cities, and to attract more tourists to Macau's growing gambling and entertainment sector. But with a bigger network, it will also present a stiffer challenge to Dragonair and Cathay for traffic between Taiwan and the mainland.
Asked why CNAC would be interested in developing Air Macau as a stronger competitor to Dragonair, a senior Air Macau source hinted the decision was linked to Cathay's expansion to mainland routes from Hong Kong.
Ryanair, one of the most successful of the new breed of low-cost, no-frills airlines in Europe, is not officially involved in the mooted deal for a stake in Air Macau. However, involvement by the Ryan family in the Macau flag carrier would almost certainly mean a transformation of Air Macau to the low-cost model which has proved successful in Europe and North America for Ryanair, easyJet, and Southwest Airlines, among others.