Ryanair may consider a no-frills transatlantic airline by the turn of the decade with flights for $12 (£7), according to CEO, Michael O’Leary. He said the airline would serve secondary airports such as Baltimore, Providence and Long Island from bases such as London Stanstead, Dublin and Frankfurt.

Flights would also operate to other US destinations including Florida, Dallas and San Francisco under plans outlined by the airline.

O’Leary told Flight International that he was confident the venture would succeed if it got the go ahead.

“By mid 2009, we will be carrying 70 million passengers at 23 bases across Europe,” O’Leary told Flight International.

“It will be relatively straightforward for us to do a deal for 40 to 50 long-haul aircraft and connect these bases transatlantically. There would be no one to touch us.”

Under the open-skies deal, more US-Europe flights will be allowed from March 2008.

Ryanair said it was looking at purchasing a fleet of up to 50 long-haul planes to get the service up and running in the next three to four years, but would be waiting for the price of aircraft to drop.
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