Written on Thursday, April 12th, 2007 at 4:49pm by Alan Bedenko | 6 Comments

Ryanair across the pond?

I wholeheartedly endorse Craig’s call for the NFTA to start talking - now – to Ryanair about using Niagara Falls International Airport for its upcoming, crazy cheap transatlantic flights.

Yes, I think $12 is just the right price for a transatlantic ticket. Don’t believe it?

Go to Ryanair.com and depart London Luton on May 19th to, say, Milano Bergamo to go see the Italian Alpine Lake region, returning the 22nd. The cost is one pence, plus tax. I have no idea how they do it, but they do.

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6 Comments

  1. ntb says:
    April 12, 2007 at 10:14 pm

    Well, one way they do it, from my experience, is by charging ridiculous fees on top of the ticket price. My wife and I flew ryanair from london to dublin two summers ago… The tickets were something like $25 each way. But our bags, heavy but not ridiculous (under 50 pounds), ended up costing $75 each (each bag each way)..

    The totaly price of the trip jumped from $100 altogether to $400, which is roughly equivalent to what we would have paid on a name-brand airline…

  2. Christopher says:
    April 13, 2007 at 8:08 am

    A brilliant idea.

    Baltimore, once Dulles ugly step-sister, is now a dominant eastern seaboard alternative thanks to Southwest and Virgin Atlantic deciding the landing fees at Dulles were too steep.

    I don’t know anything about the length of Niagra’s runways, quality of terminals, etc., but such a move could bring much needed tourist dollars to the area.

  3. whitney says:
    April 13, 2007 at 8:37 am

    Yeah, some friends who’ve done the whole post-college backpacking thing used Ryanair and loved it. I think the trick is to have all your luggage on your back, and then it’s cheap.

    Hooray!

  4. Mike from Lancaster says:
    April 13, 2007 at 9:22 am

    While we are at it how about a non-stop from Niagara or Buffalo to Ft Myers?? SWF is booming and there is no non-stop service from here. A few years ago Santo tours used to run charters down there and they were always packed..Oh well.just my two cents..

  5. peter scott says:
    April 13, 2007 at 9:44 am

    i’d expect the taxes for each leg to be up there…but its still a hell of a deal…

    in 2000, i flew london to dublin for 1.50 pounds each way…after taxes it was about 25 pounds each way…about $75 at the time…

    at the time, europe had “go” and “easyjet” as well…I was navigating the friendly skies of europe every weekend for less than $100…

    build one massive high speed rail connector…and bnia has got a legit international terminal…kind of…

  6. steve says:
    April 13, 2007 at 4:26 pm

    NFIA has adequate facilities for the planes, but not as much for the people. The terminal, such as it is, is simply too small to handle international traffic adequately, especially in light of post 9/11 security. Also, there are no jetways. Meaning, passengers must disembark down a flight of stairs from the plane onto the tarmack and then into the terminal. Not real attractive in the winter. Those are two of the reasons there has been a push for funding for a new or expanded terminal. There are rumors around about funding for that.