Ryanair reportedly plans $15 transatlantic flights, then takes it all back. What happened?

What the hell, Ryanair?

It is not my intent to write only about your Irish buffoonery, and yet, done no favors by the British press, your existence continues to double as a flood of editorial direction for this site. It's not all bad news (good choice canning the highlighter yellow interiors), but this – this is bad.

Three days after it teased a revolution with news of planned £10 transatlantic flights, Ryanair claimed on Thursday that no such plans were ever approved. As reported by the BBC, the airline's board delivered a statement to investors and the public record that it "has not considered or approved any transatlantic project and does not intend to do so." If your travel heart is now broken, you are not alone. Perhaps you can at least take solace in the certainty that $15 wasn't every truly realistic for flights across the Atlantic, even after the announced service was established, as taxes and probably fees were sure to shake hundreds more out of your pocket (related: Did you know the new pound coin was designed by a 15-year-old?). But still, what a bummer, right?

And since we're asking questions, how did this happen, exactly? Why such a hard turn after such a big and celebrated move? According to The Guardian, Monday's news came encased in an email statement laying out the specifics broadcast by delighted publications around the world: 14 targeted U.S. and European gateways, confirmation of talks with airline manufacturers (regarding the purchase of long-haul aircraft), an estimated timeline (4-5 years), and of course that disarmingly low price point. I, at least, cannot access that email on the internet, so perhaps these facts were not delivered as directly as it appears, but there seems to be no way Ryanair avoids some very pointed blame here. Some have suggested the whole thing may have been a marketing stunt, and while I'll stop short of assuming that, Ryanair, you can find me in the sad corner with everybody else.

WOW Air, please don't let us down.