Irish budget carrier Ryanair seems to have been celebrating St Patrick’s Day early if its retraction of its press statement last week is to be believed. As we reported on Routesonline (‘Ryanair One Step Closer to Going Long-Haul’), the carrier revealed it was in talks with manufacturers, with a view to ordering long-haul aircraft after its board approved plans to begin transatlantic flights.
However, the carrier has subsequently said said no approval has yet been received to expand into the long-haul, transatlantic market, putting the erroneous information down to a “miscommunication”. In a statement the airline said: “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.”
“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.”
Official Statement
Ryanair
The original release from Ryanair had naturally gained a lot of attention from the industry, especially the legacy airlines already flying between Europe and the United States. The low-cost carrier had said it would like to offer flights between ten European cities and a similar number of US destinations with European bases including London Stansted, Dublin, Cologne and Berlin, as well as others in Spain, Italy and Scandinavia.
It said these flights would connect with US destinations including Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York and Washington, but that it could be four to five years before services would start.
“The board of Ryanair, like any plc, has approved the business plans for future growth, including transatlantic. We are talking to manufacturers about long-haul aircraft but cannot comment further on this.” It said in the original statement.
“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,” the company added in the statement.
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