PR Week Echo Columns

Michael O'Leary, Ryanair's flamboyant CEO, leapt in to the low-cost "translatlantic dogfight" (Times, 13/4) last week with the headline-grabbing assertion that a Ryanair sister company would be providing flights to the US for just seven pounds by the end of the decade. That this new transatlantic airline has yet to be formed, aircraft bought and landing slot deals made, did not seem to faze the "irrepressible motormouth" (Independent, 13/4). The announcement came less than 24 hours after Zoom announced that its low-cost US flights would be available from June: "Zoom launches £129 New York trip" (bbc.co.uk, 12/4), and was followed by information that Virgin Atlantic and US no-frills carrier, South West, were also likely to join the budget transatlantic fray.

The reason behind the sudden flurry of activity lay with the ground-breaking 'open skies' agreement between the US and EU, which is set to revolutionise the transatlantic route when it comes into force in March 2008. Not all were enthused by the prospect of low-cost, no-frills travel to the United States, however. Under the headline, "Open skies, closed minds", The Guardian highlighted the environmental cost of more long-haul flights, asserting that 'open skies' amounted to the prioritisation of "growth over sustainability" (13/4).