All bluster, surely! I just don't see how it can work - where's the profit?

The Ryanair business model relies on selling add-ons, but this works because they fly short routes. Whilst they might sell 1 scratchcard for every 5 customers on 1 hour flight (n.b. invented stat), there is a limit to how many scratchcards one will buy, and this will not translate to 7 cards per 5 customers on a 7 hour flight, same for drinks, snacks, etc. Similarly, pax will only pay 1 x card fee / baggage fee / check-in fee, will only buy 1 x travel insurance, and book 1 x hotel per booking - this is why lots of short sectors are so profitable. More sectors - more add-on sales. Even allowing for larger aircraft for TATL flights doesn't cut it, and these add-ons will probably have to more than double in price to maintain a margin (and that's not taking into account additional costs of having to leave crew overnight in the States), with the net effect probably of making the total cost in Y comparable to flying with a 'proper' airline. Of course, this is an accusation already often thrown at Ryanair...

O'Leary says that Y will be "very cheap" and that J will be "very expensive", which would indicate that (not unusually) the plan is for the front cabin to subsidise the back.

However, if he has any chance of enticing business travelers onto his flights, to give up their FF programmes, give up flying on airlines with hubs and connections, to fly with a brand that is, at best 'unproven' in the business market, to airports that are at best 'secondary', he's going to have to do something special. This presumably means offering a J product that is significantly better than the alternatives, which, BJ jokes notwithstanding, is unlikely to be Ryanair's speciality, or significantly cheaper than the alternatives - but this would leave a shortfall on the loss-leading Y fares, and he has already said that this J will be 'very expensive'.

So how does he do it?

Don't get me wrong, I admire him as a businessman - and if the price is right, I might even give it a whirl, but this just strikes me as attention-seeking BS.