Ryanair Low-Cost Rockets

Ryan Air’s Michael O’Leary and Space X’s Elon Musk have been in the press a lot lately. Michael O’Leary derogatory comments on the job pilots do have just fuelled an increase in pilots leaving Ryan Air and the airline consequently cancelling more flights. While on the other side of the ocean, Elon Musk is talking flying passengers from New York to Shanghai in 39 minutes, using one of his rockets; at the price of a low-cost airline ticket. Should Michael & Elon start a conversation?

Will Ryan Air may be able to retain more pilots if they offer them to fly a Space X rocket instead of a Boeing B737NG? Knowing both Michael O’Leary and pilots, Ryan Air will ask pilots to pay for their rocket training and we will probably see quite a few get their cheque books out…

This rocket solution, offering more speed, will require less crew to operate it. Jet lag for aircrcews' would be non-existant, as you'd fly there in back in a few hours and be home for lunch...

From a technical standpoint what needs to happen to make the Ryan Air or Ryan Rocket to happen, with the help of Space X?

One of them will be cost—going fast is easy, but going fast with a profitable rocket/airline is not. Another issue will be to perfect the kind of “supersonic retropulsion” required for landing the rocket, which he refers to as BFR. SpaceX has landed its Falcon rockets 16 times to date, both on barges and on land near Cape Canaveral. Launching and recovering a massive rocket near densely populated cities across the world will likely encounter more than a few regulatory roadblocks. 

However, not every city can accommodate rocket launches. The New York City-Shanghai example SpaceX illustrated uses a high-speed ferry to shuttle passengers to an off-shore barge where the rocket launches. Not every city has the kind of real estate to enable this vision. Landing and launch sites will have to be fairly close to the city in order to attract business travellers. Cities such as Paris, London, and Chicago may struggle to find the space to accomodate regular rocket launches and recoveries. However, I am sure some other type of technology will be invented to solve this problem too…

The safety aspect of flying people in rockets, instead of aircraft is something the airlines will put high on their list. But if Musk succeeds in producing a reliable hypersonic craft that is profitable to operate with low fares, there’s little reason to think such travel would remain a niche market. I can see this maybe starting off as a premium service, to the gradually morph into low-cost travel between continents.

If Michael and Elon don't get together to discuss this fast I am sure someone else called Sir Richard Branson is already working on the Virgin Atlantic Rocket Lines...it's all about speed...

You’re probably thinking that this is definitely somewhere in the future, how far though? Probably 5-10 years away, but with enough financial backing it could be here a lot sooner…

Fabrizio Poli is an independant aviation consultant specialized in aircraft sales. He is also an accomplished Airline Transport Pilot having flown both private Jets and for the airlines. Fabrizio is also a bestselling author and inspirational speaker & has been featured on Russia Today (RT), TRT World, Social Media Examiner, Bloomberg, Channel 5, Chicago Tribune, Daily Telegraph, City Wealth Magazine, Billionaire.com, Wealth X, Financial Times, El Financiero and many other Media offering insight on the aviation world. Fabrizio is also regularly featured as an Aviation Analyst on Russia Today (RT) and TRT World. Fabrizio is also aviation special correspondent for luxury magazine, Most Fabullous Magazine. Fabrizio is also considered one of the world's top 30 experts in using Linkedin for business. You can tune in weekly to Fabrizio's business Podcast Living Outside the Cube available both in video & audio. You can also follow Fabrizio's aviation videos on Biz Jet TV . Fabrizio's latest book "Health4Flyers", the first natural-health book for pilots, flights attendants and frequent flyers is now available worldwide.