Budget carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle hopes to have deal set up with either easyJet or Ryanair this year that would bring short-haul passengers to its long-haul network.

"We are speaking to both... We are fairly sure we will be able to set up a system with one of them this year," Bjorn Kjos said on the sidelines of an event in Paris, adding he did not know which would be first.

Norwegian offers low-cost long-haul flights, but needs the passengers to feed into that network to fill its planes and make money.

The partners still need to create a joint interface for ticket sales before the feeder flight deal can proceed.

Kjos said the concept could work at airports such as Paris Charles de Gaulle and Gatwick with easyjet and in Ireland for Ryanair. He said he expected two hours would be plenty for transfer times.

He also said he was "definitely interested" in a new mid-market jet that Boeing is studying.

He ruled out, however, the 737 Max 10, set to be launched at the Paris air show, because it does not offer any extra range.