By Aude Lagorce

LONDON (Dow Jones) -- Ryanair is hoping passengers will take a gamble on its flights.

In a move that could mean free travel for its customers, Europe`s largest no-frills airline is looking for a partnership with a gaming company to introduce in-flight gambling within the next year or two.

The plan could see Ryanair Holding PLC (RYAAY) give away between 50% and 100% of its seats on a given flight. About 25% of seats are gratis now under various promotion schemes.

What`s lacking are details of just how a gambling plan would work.

``It`s another piece of the O`Leary jigsaw that he hopes will allow him to offer free flights in the long run. But gambling revenue alone won`t make up for the lost fares,`` said Doug McVitie, an aerospace consultant with Arran Aerospace.

He said Ryanair already makes a large chunk of its profit from travel-associated bus fares as well as hotel and restaurant concessions.

``Saying gambling alone will allow Ryanair to do away with fares is a lie,`` he said.

Ryanair has long been vocal about wanting to generate revenue through an in-flight game of Black Jack.

So far, the carrier`s plans for an airborne Las Vegas have been hampered by technology. It needs to figure out a way to get the gamblers to pay.

But Ryanair`s flamboyant chief executive, Michael O` Leary, is not one to be easily deterred, and has said in-flight gambling could become a reality as soon as 2007.

Indeed, technology may well have caught up with O` Leary`s plans. In September, a U.S. company called eFlyte announced the launch of an in-flight gambling system requiring no upfront costs.

EFlyte, based in Jacksonville, Fla., said several airlines are interested.

For now, O`Leary says Ryanair will be launching a virtual gambling product on its Ryanair.com Web site -- which receives 15 million visitors a month - within the next couple of months as a precursor.

``I think they`re quite keen to get it on board. The jury is still out on whether it would be a big success or not,`` said Mike Powell, an airline analyst with DresdnerKleinwortWasserstein.

Not all of O` Leary`s ideas have been taken off.

Last year, the company rolled out an onboard individual video and entertainment system for passengers, only to withdraw it after a few months when it failed to generate substantial revenue.

Ryanair had hoped a quarter of its annual 35 million passengers would use the system, while only 7 to 8% did.

The airline, one of the most profitable in the world, already sells lottery scratch cards during flights for passengers who are bored and restless. Ryanair expects to allow passengers to use mobile phones by the spring and has plans for Internet children`s games.

O` Leary looks likely to be waiting longer for the real jackpot