Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary aims to launch a transatlantic cut-price airline within three years.

He has always said Ryanair, Europe's largest budget airline, would not launch an intercontinental operation. Instead, he plans to back a new venture using the no-frills, low-cost, cheap-fares business model.

The launch of the new airline would, he hopes, coincide with an upswing from the current aviation slump — and with his long-flagged desire to leave Ryanair, from which he is reckoned to have a made a fortune of hundreds of millions of euros.

It is understood the airline would fly from nine separate bases in Europe — the likes of Stansted and smaller airports near big population centres — to an airport on Long Island, where take-off and landing charges will be negligible compared to New York's JFK and Newark.

Despite numerous failed budget transatlantic airlines, from Freddie Laker's Skytrain to the collapse of Zoom, O'Leary is confident. “There may be an opportunity to pick up cheap long-haul aircraft next year, in which case we might launch a low-cost, long-haul programme in two-and-a-half years,” he told reporters.

He said backers for the venture could include private-equity giant TPG, whose founder David Bonderman is Ryanair's chairman, and The Prudential.

Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic said it continued to shrug off fears for the sector. Profits in the six months to end-August rose 67% to £72 million on a 3% rise in passengers to three million.