The boss of Irish airline Ryanair has revealed plans to offer flights from Europe to America for as little as $10 within a few years.
The golden tickets will be offered on a first come first served basis, with only a limited number of seats on each flight subject to the offer. But the $10 tickets will be available for the customers who act fastest.
Michael O’Leary, the founder of the budget airline, revealed the plan in a recent address to the Irish Hotels Federation. The Cork born entrepreneur said: “We can make money on 99 cent fares in Europe – not every seat will be €10 of course, there will also need to be a very high number of business or premium seats.”
Ryanair has transformed the aviation industry in Europe over the past decade. They offer incredibly cheap plane tickets to major destinations, with a ‘no frills’ approach to air travel.
Millions of holidaymakers have taken advantage of the bargain prices, and visited some of the most popular tourist resorts in Spain, France, Greece and the rest of Europe.
The company has come under criticism by some for charging passengers extra for simple facilities such as baggage storage and in-flight meals.
However, O’Leary has always taken a blunt approach to such comments, defending his company and their methods: “Why are we carrying 81 million passengers if we’re this terrible? We have the lowest fares, we have brand-new aircraft and we have the most on-time flights.”
He also makes no secret of the fact that his staff are encouraged to maximise profits on flights by selling travellers these extras. He has joked in the past: “If drink sales are falling off, we get the pilots to engineer a bit of turbulence. That usually spikes sales.”
The $10 flights are expected to be made available within five years, once the company has accrued the necessary number of long-haul-flight planes.
However, not everyone is a fan of the budget airline companies. Here is a video of operatic comedy vocal group Fascinating Aïda making fun of the hidden extra costs that can be incurred by travellers.
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