Ryanair Will Fly To 14 U.S. Cities From Europe

(RTTNews) - Ryanair, Europe's largest discount airline, plans to launch cheap transatlantic flights to as many as 14 U.S. cities from Europe in four to five years' time, subject to acquisition of viable long-haul aircraft.

"The board of Ryanair, like any PLC, has approved the business plans for future growth, including transatlantic," said the company in a statement. "We are talking to manufacturers about long-haul aircraft but can't comment further on this. 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."

"We would like to offer low-cost flights between 12 to 14 European cities and 12 to 14 U.S. cities. The business plan is there but it's dependent on attaining viable long-haul aircraft and we estimate that's four to five years away."

Ryanair did not name the U.S. cities it plans to connect, but reports said the list includes Boston, New York, Chicago, and Miami.

Although some subsidized promotional fares would cost £10, other one-way tickets would be priced at £99 or more, and the Irish carrier would fill up to half its aircraft with more expensive premium seats, Ryanair's head of marketing Kenny Jacobs was reported as saying.

Founded in 1985, Ryanair has a fleet of more than 300 new Boeing 737-800 aircraft and operates more than 1,600 scheduled short-haul flights per day serving about 189 airports mainly in Europe.