$200 round trip to the US

I think I may have some of your attention, right?
Well I just read Clark Howards show notes where he says if Ryan Air is successful in buying Aer Lingus they will really sock it to the major Atlantic carriers.

http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/clarkhoward/travel/ryanair-radically-lower-price-getting-us-europe/nPbFm/

Now many of you are more informed than me about Ryan Air and I think some of you don't think too much of them. I hope I don't start you off on a negative note by saying that?

This is good news to me because there needs to be a shake up of the airlines all around. To me they are gouging and everyone seems to be fed up with them be they employees or passengers.

Every ticket for the airlines should include the compensation package of the CEO's of the airlines. Right

Off the subject but I just read somewhere that in GB they are talking about limiting the compensation of the CEO's. Something about the shareholders should be involved. That's good news to me.

Cheers

Oh this would be fantastic in my opinion. Open up the competition! I've never flown Ryan before, and I know they have tons of fees, but quite frankly so do the other airlines now. I would love for my son to have the ability to fly here to us and be able to afford it. Being able to fly back to see my folks (who can't fly here due to dad's health) on a regular basis without going broke would be great too!

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/business-news/aer-lingus-rejects-latest-ryanair-bid-16175238.html

Wonder if this will actually ever happen, after reading this update. It would be amazing to introduce a little more competition into the transatlantic market!

RyanAir is absolutely horrendous, but if it was actually THIS cheap, I could overlook a lot of their shortcomings.

RyanAir is absolutely horrendous, but if it was actually THIS cheap, I could overlook a lot of their shortcomings.

Me too.

When I buy tickets to fly home they are usually cheaper than 200 for the ticket, the problem is taxes.  Taxes are usually more than the ticket price.
 
So is this the price with taxes?

I flew with Ryanair for the first time earlier this month. They weren't that bad, really. But we had to be really careful with packing because we didn't want to pay £50 to check in a bag. We did, however, pay an extra £20 for priority boarding and it was totally worth it. The two of us flew to Norway and back for £100 so I can't really complain.

When I buy tickets to fly home they are usually cheaper than 200 for the ticket, the problem is taxes.  Taxes are usually more than the ticket price.
 
So is this the price with taxes?

Yeah, I flew to New York last month on Virgin for £158 return!

...but before you get too excited that's not including £260 in tax and fees and £7.50 to pay by credit card.

At least most of the transatlantic carriers still allow 1 bag of luggage free. Once Ryanair adds in the taxes, fees, and the multitude of other charges they impose. I'm sure the final price will be way more.

I know Ryanair still charges less than most other airlines to Europe but not by much these days with all the add-ons. It’s a young people’s airline and to an old crank like me, they are not worth the aggravation.

I was watching on tv the other day and for a 2nd bag Ryan charges 260pounds thats right 260 pounds  for a 2nd bag

Taxes can indeed amount to the largest part of the ticket.  But one of "sneaky" things the airlines do is hide their fuel surcharges in the "taxes."  That way they can advertise the fare as an attractive come-buy-me price...and then disingenuously blame "taxes" as the reason the total price is so high.  It is one of the key reasons that consumer watchdogs are pushing for the transparent pricing in advertising and on web booking engines.

Taxes can indeed amount to the largest part of the ticket.  But one of "sneaky" things the airlines do is hide their fuel surcharges in the "taxes."  That way they can advertise the fare as an attractive come-buy-me price...and then disingenuously blame "taxes" as the reason the total price is so high.  It is one of the key reasons that consumer watchdogs are pushing for the transparent pricing in advertising and on web booking engines.

It's already the law in the US that all tickets must be advertised by their "all-in" price from the beginning. It's refreshing.

Also, Iceland Express tried the low-cost model to and from the US and it wasn't very successful, ultimately.

Sorry, but this would be horrible for Ireland. Before RyanAir entered the market, Aer Lingus ruled the Irish market and could charge ridiculous amounts for short-haul flights from Ireland (like 200 Irish pounds to fly from Dublin to London). Then RyanAir came onto the scene and forced Aer Lingus to be competitive. If RyanAir buys them out, then it's back to the same old scene and the loss of competitive rates. Not to mention, the idea of flying RyanAir on a long-haul flight sends shivers down my spine! I could barely manage them on the 45 minute flight between Dublin and Bristol! 

I love flying Aer Lingus between Dublin and the US and I hope they stick around!   

the idea of flying RyanAir on a long-haul flight sends shivers down my spine!   

Agreed.

I was watching on tv the other day and for a 2nd bag Ryan charges 260pounds thats right 260 pounds  for a 2nd bag

I am no fan of Ryan Air but this isn't true.

http://www.ryanair.com/en/terms-and-conditions#regulations-tableoffees

I love flying Aer Lingus between Dublin and the US and I hope they stick around!   

Me too. Aer Lingus is brilliant!  I was on them for a business class recently and it was top notch.  I like their economy very much as well!