“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.”
This is an official statement from members of the board of Ryanair on Thursday, March 19, 2015, according to multiple sources — released three days after numerous credible sources had been abuzz about the possibility of transatlantic flights on Ryanair for as few as 10 pounds.
I suppose that the “talks with both Airbus and Boeing pertaining to the purchase of aircraft capable of the proposed service” were untrue as well.
Wait a second — isn’t Ryanair the airline with Michael O’Leary as its infamously outspoken chief executive officer? You know — the one who publicized the possibility of paying fees to use the lavatory; being charged a fee for boarding passes; paying a fee simply for the privilege of booking a flight; and standing room only for passengers on transatlantic flights? Who needs seat belts and those pesky co-pilots, anyway?
Could this have been another one of those publicity stunts?
The prospect of transatlantic flights operated by Ryanair was first announced greater than a year ago. As I originally wrote in this article back on Tuesday, March 4, 2014, the chief executive officer of Ryanair had announced that the airline will begin to offer transatlantic flights to New York and Boston starting at 10 Euro per seat once it eventually acquires long-haul aircraft needed for the journey — at least several years away at a minimum…
…but at this time, it appears to be far greater than several years; so if you were hoping to travel on transatlantic flights inexpensively, it appears that you will have to settle for airlines such as Norwegian Air Shuttle for now — to the chagrin of the Air Line Pilots Association, International, which had controversially expressed concern that the flights present a threat to the aviation industry in the United States.
The world headquarters of Ryanair in Swords, Ireland. Photograph ©2014 by Brian Cohen.
