Ryanair considers transatlantic service

Ryanair's chief executive, Michael O' Leary, has provided some more details about how his airline could offer low-cost transatlantic flights in the future.

Mr O'Leary has previously stated that he wants Ryanair to enter the market for low-cost long-haul services and hopes to offer flights to the US for as little as €10 (£7) one way.

However, Mr O'Leary explained to the website MarketWatch that he has to wait until the market is favourable before plans can progress. He said that he was waiting for a downturn in the aviation industry so Ryanair could purchase cheaper aircraft.

He added that it was also important for the recently agreed open skies deal between Europe and the US would have to come into effect.

"We're a couple of years away from this. It won't happen unless there's a cheap fleet," Mr O'Leary told the site.

The Ryanair boss also explained that the new service would feature a business class section, unlike the airline's European flights.

"We can't get rid of business class on long-haul flights. The economics of it don't add up," he explained.

Yesterday, Ryanair released figures which showed that it recorded record net profits of €401 million (£271 million) in the year ending on March 31st 2007.

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