O'Leary: Ryanair-style Atlantic long haul LCC. Average fares below EUR100? Stansted likely airport

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary's latest musings about a possible low cost transatlantic project indicate that he believes any such operation would need average fares below EUR100. This raises the question of just what is a sustainable fare in this market? Until recently the exclusive preserve of legacy full service carriers, the North Atlantic has witnessed the entry of LCC Norwegian over the past year.

However, it was always possible to find relatively low fares and Norwegian's pricing, while lower than that of premium airlines such as British Airways, does not appear to be substantially lower than the average all-inclusive economy fare of AEA member airlines between Europe and North America.

Mr O'Leary's thoughts suggest he would aim for a discount of 60% or more to legacy airline fares. This would undoubtedly drive volume. It would also be greater than the equivalent average discount offered by Ryanair in short haul. However, it may be difficult to find and sustain the cost savings necessary to make this profitable on long haul routes, even with a high fare premium cabin as part of the model.