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Ryanair mooted the idea of transatlantic flights for $12 last April, but no more was heard and it was written off by many as just a dream. However, 17 months on and with the aviation industry in crisis, the playing field has changed and last week Michael O’Leary resurrected the idea of low cost flights to New York from Stansted, Prestwick and Birmingham.

Ryanair would set up a totally new company solely to operate these routes. They have been quoted as saying that “the whole European agenda has changed” making it easier for their bid for Aer Lingus, the Irish national carrier, to be approved. If their bid is successful, they would plan to use the 15 new planes ordered by Aer Lingus for their new transatlantic route and are also in talks regarding acquiring some of the new Boeing 787s, now cheaper to lease than before due to the problems in the industry.

The deputy chief executive of the airline has said that many of the smaller European carriers are unlikely to survive and feels that the European Commission should let the “grossly inefficient and polluting airlines” such as Alitalia and Olympic Airways go under, rather than allow governments to help them keep their heads above the water.

At a time when the rising cost of fuel and airlines going bust right left and centre has heralded misery for travellers, the prospect of cheap flights to New York is an interesting one. Many will no doubt hope, however, that Ryanair will ditch their plan to allow mobile phones to be used on flights from this month!