Flying Across The Atlantic Could Get Even Cheaper

The open blue skies might become even cheaper to navigate, all thanks to one Irish airline. On Monday, Ryanair said it will offer $15 trans-Atlantic flights between the United States and Europe. But before you hop online to book your next trip, keep in mind the company has slated those ultra-cheap one-way tickets to go on sale years from now — in 2020, to be exact. Still, the prospect of flying from New York to London for approximately the same price as what you pay for a Friday night movie ticket is enough to get anyone to jump on board.

Ryanair said on Monday its directors recently approved expansion plans that would set up international flights between 14 U.S. and 14 European cities such as New York, Boston, Chicago, Miami, London, Dublin, and Berlin, according to The Guardian. The airline would need several years to secure long-haul aircraft contracts since its 28-country flight network is currently contained within Europe and Morocco. Ryanair, which specializes in budget travel, offered this statement on the news:

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.

Ryanair, which is based in Dublin and London Stansted Airports, has seen huge success as the low-cost flying business continues to grow. The Huffington Post reported that Ryanair was the busiest international airline in 2012 as more than 80 million passengers chose to fly with Europe's ultimate discount carrier. Ryanair, however, isn't the first airline to invest in budget flights across the Atlantic. Icelandic airline Wow Air announced in December it would offer non-stop flights from Boston and Baltimore to Reykjavík, Iceland's capital, for as low as $99 each way. Earlier this month, Lufthansa's low-cost brand Eurowings said it would begin providing $100 one-way tickets from Cologne, Germany, to places in the Caribbean, Dubai, and Thailand.

But Ryanair has seen its own share of troubles. Though its plane tickets can appear to be the cheapest around, the airline often tacks on additional fees for features such as seat reservations and checked luggage. Other carriers often include these amenities in their original ticket prices.

While these cheap flights sound great to you, don't forget. Ryanair is a business, and it will spend the next few years figuring out a way to make money off these low-cost trips. You should expect to see lots of additional expenses on your flight itinerary. Until you hear more specific terms, get your head out of the clouds. For now, these no-frills $15 flights sound like nothing more than a pipe dream.

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