Budget Airliner Plans Trans-Atlantic Flights For $12

Budget airline Ryanair is drawing up plans to offer trans-Atlantic flights as cheap as 10 euros ($12.70) before taxes to several U.S. cities from Britain and Ireland, a company official said, according to a newspaper report Sunday.

The Irish airline intends to offer services from London's Stansted and Dublin airports to New York, Florida, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston, Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary was quoted as saying in an interview with Britain's News of the World tabloid.

Ryanair Holdings PLC spokeswoman Pauline McAlester said she could not confirm the plans before an official announcement Monday when the company's half yearly results - expected to show a fall in profits as a result of slowing consumer demand - are announced.

"Economy class will be very cheap - around 10 euros. But our business class will be very expensive. There's always 10-15 percent who'll pay whatever it costs for a wide seat," O'Leary was quoted as saying.

Last month, the airline closed a base in Valencia, ending 70 weekly flights to the city in southern Spain.

But O'Leary hopes Ryanair could snap up aircraft from struggling rivals to create a new trans-Atlantic service, the newspaper said.

"We'll just have to keep flying more aircraft, opening up more routes and offering people more cheap flights," he was quoted as saying.

Comments

[DirkNLExpat]

I have flown from Frankfurt Hahn (which is actually 85km from Frankfurt) to Stansted London. cost 10 Euros. Then when I got to Stansted it cost me 15 euros to take the train back into Central London.

[Rockwell]

Um, why wouldn't a business traveler just buy 4 coach seats for 50 bucks and stretch out in luxury for the entire flight?

[SpaghettiCat]

lol brililant idea... just buy a whole row.

[Hipployta]

I lived in the UK for two years and lived 30 minutes from Stanstead. I have many fond memories of waiting for the airport bus in Brandon at 5am to get a ride to Stanstead to fly away...SUPER CHEAP...on RyanAir. I remember getting tickets to Greece 2 days beforehand for 40 quid roundtrip...

Question: Since when does RyanAir have a business class? Granted I left the UK in 04...

[andhakari]

Ryanair has a bit of a reputation for maybe getting you to your destination, but not being able to find room for you on the way back. Good luck.

[zbjordan23]

I am not getting on an airplane that cost only 12 bucks...some cuts were made at some point...i dont know...like maybe pilot salary...or those pesky extra maintanaince checks that never find a problem...

[LastLiberalRepublican]

Hey, boys and girls, do the math. Does the maximum seating X $12/person cover the fuel cost? Like, let's get real.

[MajorKong]

Let's see:

270 pax at $12/head = $3240

Fuel burn rate = 10,000 lbs/hr = 1,515 gallons/hour
Jet fuel = $2.47/gallon = $3742

It doesn't even cover the fuel cost for the first hour. And we haven't even started paying the flight crew, lease on the airplane, maintenance, landing fees etc.

[DirkNLExpat]

When I was flying for Libyan govt ( VIP DC-8) we got fuel for 7 cents a liter. :-)

[DirkNLExpat]

years ago I used to jumpseat on Freighters from Frankfurt to Dover AFB, took sleeping bag and slept in container.

[nomadicexpat]

they use progressive pricing. so the first seat on a plane is $12, then it starts going up until the last seat is sold. it averages out to much more than $12

but for those who buy well far in advance, you can get a ticket cheap. and if u cancel you lose your $12 but get your taxes back so it is like buying an option!

people routinely buy tickets to nice for every weekend in the summer then just decide when to go as the dates approach

and yes they already said it will be to islip, which is perfect for the hamptons!!!

[AZTrueBlue]

Who has $12.00?

[worldtraveller]

LOL... Thanks!

[larry278]

18 bucks or whatever doesn't include the tax. What would the tax be, how much?

[grahatd]

On a United Airlines roundtrip San Francisco to London Heathrow in December 2008, the Total Fare is $767.74. That fare includes a Base Fare of $253.00 and Taxes & Fees of $514.74.

[smokeystover39]

A TransAtlantic flight for under 15 bucks per person...HMMMMM. Notice there's no fine print about double occupancy or the like - that could be a problem.. What comes to mind first are those banded and bundled bales of cardboard one sees behind most grocery stores. Yes.. that's it. They bale the passengers like used cardboard and forklift them on and off the plane. Note: be prepared to boil your body when you get to your hotel room.

Folks, I think someone at Ryan "Air" has been smoking too much Gaelic Green - although I've been on some flights where the thought of being bundled with some hottie two seats over for 8 hours would be part of the price I'd gladly pay. "Book Me - Danno!"

[MajorKong]

I don't see how they can possibly be making money with those fares.

[Neophyte]

I don't care!

[LeonBNJ]

I doubt the US FAA as well as the UK and Rep. of Ireland equivilents will allow such hypercheap fares to protect the 'legacy' and major carriers like British, AA, UA, Virgin, Aer Linges. I also suspect from knowing how they work, a destination descirbed as to 'NY City' will more likely be Bradley/Springfield-Hartford CT airport. Still let us not forget that currently the fees for coach for such flights is about $300 round trip.

[Tom95134]

NY City could be Islip, L.I. I think the cheapest landing fees in the S.F. Bay area are in Sacramento.

[dennybop]

I spend alot of time in Europe and fly on Ryanair and other discount airlines regularly. The jets are comparable to any of our domestic airlines. You won't get a meal, and you'll have to buy drinks, but so what? Your seats aren't assigned and most flights-but by no means all- utilize older airports that have been nicely updated. Last summer I flew from Glasgow Scotland to Rome Italy for just under the equivalent of $100. A bargain? What if I told you the entire price wasn't just for me. It included my nephew and brother-in-law. A major international flight for less than $33 each.
It's nice to see Ryanair try to open flights between the US and the UK and Ireland. I'm not sure it will work for them. But I'm sure that the template they invented would do well for American domestic and holiday destinations.

[SunFresh]

I have been on Ryan-Air - would not recommend it for a 8-9 hour flight - but heck, for that cheap, why not?

[Dystopic]

why not? that cheap of a seat = no routine maint

[SunFresh]

Lol - if McCains I predict a lot of one way tickes being purchased.

[Paul]

Here is what's in the fine print: you have to take a powerful sedative and they ship you over in a box.