Ryanair goes medium haul. Is a Middle East hub the goal as it pushes the limits?

The announcement last week from Ryanair that it intends to include Larnaca, Cyprus in its list of destinations raises some interesting questions. Not least amongst them is, just how far can LCCs travel using the business model that is in place now? So far Ryanair has shied away from long haul (transatlantic) operations, which its management knows would require a significant adjustment to the short/mid haul model, though it still insists it will do it one day. It seems Ryanair (or Michael O'Leary) has spoken to airport management in the U.S., for example Niagara Falls airport, about hosting the first route. Now it appears though that Ryanair may be looking at tapping into the Middle East market, by using Larnaca as a base.