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Why are flights in Europe on Ryan Air so much cheaper than domestic US flights?

In 2003, my wife and I flew from Rome to Frankfurt for 4.98 Euros per person plus tax for a total of about 40 Euros per person. At ryanair.com, they are advertising one-way flights for 0.01 Euros plus tax and I've never seen fares more than 19.99 Euros plus tax. The cheapest flight I've ever taken in the US on a scheduled carrier was probably $75 plus tax. Europeans fly for less than it costs for us Americans to ride the bus.

Public Comments

1. That's because Europeans have a lot shorter distance to travel!
2. Spirit Airlines 1cent from Ft.Lauderdale to Kingston, Jamaica is expensive? $8 Ft.Lauderdale-Washington is expensive? Somebody needs to do a little more research... also, you should know that ryanair don't fly to important airport. they use "Frankfurt" Hahn, or "Barcelona" Girona, airports that sometimes are 100kms from the city!
3. Probably because many of the cities that Ryan Air flys to don't charge the outrageous landing fees that most US airports charge.
4. read the small print. they charge for everything, food, booking, etc.
5. I know it's crazy to see flights for 1c and up, and sometimes even free, and to also see Ryanair churning over a good profit. Here's what I know... In Italy, a budget airline went out of business and the government asked Ryanair to take over the routes and offered no airport taxes as an incentive. Ryanair still charges the customer those taxes so they are obviously pocketing the taxes themselves. If you book a flight at the last minute or are not flexible enough to find a cheap flight date, you pay a normal amount. If you miss the flight, you pay a E60 fee to change to a new flight. One time we were flying from Reus to Stanstead and on from Stanstead to Knock, both legs on Ryanair. The Reus flight left 5 hours late and we missed our connection to Knock and had to pay E60 to fly the next day instead. I think they make money on the airport connection buses as well. All their airplanes are in continuous use. If they have a problem with a plane it is difficult and slow for them to find a replacement as all planes are in use all the time. Gambling (coming soon) and other extras such as food, excess baggage, etc. on the flights By the way - I just checked Spirit Airlines and the 1c flight and all I could actually get was $105. Somebody needs to do more research back at ya! Also, Girona and Hahn are bad examples. Girona is 100km from Barcelona, but it is an extreme case. Yes, the airports are not the main ones, but 100km is not the norm. Actually their airport in Rome is closer than the main one that other airlines use. However, that is also an exception. 40km or so is more of an average.