Despite a 47% drop in profits, Irish ultra-discounter Ryanair is announcing plans for trans-Atlantic flights starting at £8 plus tax.

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said their “Economy class will be very cheap, around 10 euros, but our business class will be very expensive.”

Where would they fly? Launch routes would likely connect London-Stansted or Dublin with New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and unnamed Florida airports. Don’t expect a launch for another 12 or 18 months.

With a substantial network within Europe, Ryanair is likely to find success with its stripped down fares on the economy side. It won’t be pleasurable, and you’ll be nickel-and-dimed for everything, but it’ll still be cheap, and in a recessionary environment, there’s seemingly nothing that economy passengers wouldn’t put up with in order to save money. (And the legacy carriers aren’t doing much to earn your loyalty these days…)

Begin speculating what add-ons they’ll be charging you extra for!

What’s more of a mystery is the business class end of things. Ryanair doesn’t offer anything remotely approximating business class on its intra-European network. They’re the antithesis of premium, with some of the tightest legroom in the sky. So their premium cabin business would rely solely on terminating traffic in London-Stansted or Dublin. Having seen the demise of Maxjet, Eos, and Silverjet, which each serviced outlying London airports without significant premium connecting options, instead of the more networked Heathrow or Gatwick, you have to question whether the Ryanair business class model can work.

Related:
- Disturbing Ryanair safety/training video exposé
- Ryanair to fly to U.S.? Discounter attempts takeover of AerLingus
- Ryanair’s trifecta of customer alienation

(image)