Mr. Olsen, who is 49 years old, has been with Cathay, a long-haul airline based in Hong Kong, for 25 years, the last three as general manager of European operations.

Who is going to fly all those cushy new sleeper seats in all of those redesigned first- and business-class cabins on long-haul airlines?

Ryanair's CEO, Michael O'Leary, stated in April 2007 that Ryanair planned to launch a new long-haul airline around 2009.

In January, British Airways, the world's biggest long-haul airline, said it had asked five aircraft makers to bid to supply 60 new jets.

For those heading further afield, Emirates was your pick of favourite long-haul airline - a mantle previously monopolised by Singapore Airlines.

Many other long-haul domestic and foreign airlines have also been rushing to refurbish their higher-end services.

Some union leaders said they suspected that the French Government wanted to force long-haul airlines to move to Charles de Gaulle because it was the principal hub of the state-owned carrier, Air France.

"As a short-hop carrier, we have always handled a greater amount of carry-on luggage than long-haul airlines," she said.

Scoot Pte Ltd. is a Singapore-based low-cost long-haul airline.

Lion Air is planning to create a long-haul airline called Batik Air, which will begin operations in 2013 using 737-900ERs.