RyanAir to Offer $15 Transatlantic Flights ?! – UPDATED

Get your passport ready and prepare to take an insanely inexpensive flight to Europe. RyanAir is rolling out an aggressive plan to offer transatlantic flights. The best part about this bit of travel news… fares are said to start as low as £10 – about $14.95 for American wallets.

RyanAir, an Irish airline, is launching a five year plan to break into the transatlantic market. The Guardian reports that the board “has approved outline plans to fly between up to 14 European cities,” which includes New York, Boston, Chicago, Miami,London Stansted, Dublin, and Berlin.

First, the company must acquire planes. RyanAir did confirm they are “in talks” with manufacturers to purchase long-haul aircraft. Once they secure the needed transportation, will the company really be able to offer such cheap international flights? The company’s statement addresses the need and desire for such flights stating…

“European consumers want lower-cost travel to the USA and the same for Americans coming to Europe. We see it as a logical development in the European market.”

That’s evident, but can the airline survive it’s rather hefty endeavor? Low cost fares conjures up attempts made by Zoom Airlines and Skytrain. Both failed similar attempts in the 80s. More recently, Norwegian Air Shuttle is seeing red after trying to break into the same market currently dominated by heavyweights like British Airways, American Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic.

Kenny Jacobs, Ryanair’s head of marketing, conveyed his confidence to the Financial Times. The company believes it is a bigger brand and stronger business than it’s struggling counterparts. An analyst for the airline added, “Ryanair’s service would be aimed at a different market to the traditional carriers. It would generate new demand. If you can fly people across the Atlantic for a relatively small sum, a lot of people would fly out [to the States] for a long weekend.”

The success of this plan circles back to the planes. Unless the company manages to break a great deal on efficient and cost-effective aircraft – the plan will bust.

Maybe we should put a hold on that passport renewal. If the plan does succeed, the airline won’t be ready to offer the dirt-cheap flights until sometime in 2020.

UPDATE: Ryanair has backtracked on its claim stating, “In the light of recent press coverage, the Board of Ryanair Holdings Plc wishes to clarify that it has not considered or approved any transatlantic project and does not intend to do so.”

Basically, the company messed up and had a HUGE fail when it came to their PR department. The airline’s CEO Michael O’Leary explained the company “f**ked up” and then blamed the inaccurate info on a “a miscommunication.”