Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has said the airline could offer low-cost transatlantic flights in the next five to 10 years.
O’Leary claims Ryanair has a business plan to roll out the service but lack of availability for long-haul aircraft would make it difficult in the next few years.
The move would see Ryanair follow rival budget airline Norwegian, which started transatlantic routes earlier this year, into offering low-cost long-haul services.
"We've had a business plan ready to roll for a transatlantic low-fares airline," O’Leary told the Irish Mirror.
"The difficulty is, I keep cautioning, is that there's no availability of long-haul aircraft for another four or five years.
"So unless we can secure a fleet of low-cost aircraft, frankly, the business doesn't get off the ground.
"The future is very hard to foretell, it certainly is unlikely to happen within the next five years, but I'd be disappointed if it doesn't happen within the period, maybe, five to 10 years."
O’Leary’s comments come a couple of weeks after Ryanair launched its latest initiative to attract more business travellers – ‘Ryanair Business Plus’.
The business package will offer travellers “a tailored suite of travel benefits” which includes flexible tickets, more check-in baggage, priority boarding and "premium" seats.
Last week, the Irish airline signed a $22 billion agreement with Boeing for 100 737 Max 200 aircraft with the option of 100 more.
Ryanair.com