Ryanair: The LCC King (AvHistory #23)

How Europe's most controversial airline built a €70 billion empire on ultra-low fares and aggressive cost-cutting.

Ryanair: The Ultimate Low-Cost King

Welcome back, all our dearest value travelers!

We really need to discuss the business practices and history of one of not just Europe’s, but truly the world’s, most successful airlines—and the undisputed ruler of low-cost carriers and cut-rate travel. I refer to none other than Ryanair.

As a result, this will be Aviation History & Analysis No. 23, rather than a standard analysis. Let’s jump in!

Ryanair, headquartered in the town of Swords, County Dublin, Ireland, is by far the largest airline in Europe by scheduled passengers carried, fleet size, and total flights. Globally, it is the largest airline by international passengers carried, the third-largest by market capitalization behind Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, and the fifth-most profitable by net income.

In 2025, the company sold 208 million airline tickets, averaging €70 in total revenue against €62 in costs per ticket sold. It is widely considered the cheapest airline operating in Europe. Ryanair is ranked 790th on the Forbes Global 2000 and 280th on the Fortune 500 Europe.

The airline was founded in 1984 by businessmen Christopher Ryan and Tony Ryan, from whom it takes its name. Today, the parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, operates airline subsidiaries Ryanair DAC, Buzz, Malta Air, Lauda Europe, and Ryanair UK.

Combined, the group manages a fleet of 651 aircraft and operates more than 3,500 short-haul flights per day, serving approximately 230 airports in 36 countries. Its primary operational bases include Dublin Airport, London-Stansted Airport, and Milan Bergamo Airport.

To maintain low operating expenses, the company dynamically manages its network, frequently cutting routes temporarily and re-adding them as expenses permit, or reducing capacity in response to increases in regional airport fees, taxes, or environmental levies.

Ryanair operates an ultra-low-cost, no-frills business model, generating nearly one-third of its income from ancillary revenue by charging additional fees for seat selection, cabin and checked baggage, and airport check-in services.

Longtime CEO Michael O'Leary, who owns approximately 4% of the company, has a personal stake in its growth and frequently stirs media controversy to generate free publicity for the brand.

While the airline consistently scores poorly in customer satisfaction metrics, the company routinely dismisses these results as statistically unrepresentative, pointing instead to its long-term growth in booking numbers. O'Leary views media coverage through the old saying, "all publicity is good publicity."

This view is clearly working quite well, as we will soon see.

A Brief History

Some brief history of the airline is necessary for context.

The company was incorporated on November 28, 1984, as Danren Enterprises. Danren Enterprises, which would become Ryanair, was founded by Christopher Ryan, Tony Ryan—the founder of the short-lived Guinness Peat Aviation—his son, Declan Ryan, and family friend Liam Lonergan, owner of the Irish travel agency Club Travel.

The airline was quickly renamed Ryanair and launched its first flight on July 8, 1985, a short route between Waterford and Gatwick Airport, using a single 15-seat Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante turboprop aircraft.

Cabin crew were required to be no taller than 5 feet 2 inches "in order to be able to operate in the tiny cabin of the aircraft." As of September 1985, Ryanair was operating nine weekly flights on the route. In its first year, the airline carried 5,000 passengers, showcasing its early popularity.

The first chief executive was Eugene O'Neill, who had previously worked as managing director of Tony Ryan's Sunday Tribune newspaper and as Ryan's personal assistant. Ryan fired O'Neill in September 1987 after only two years on the job for "failing to advance the company's growth."

In 1989, a Short Sandringham flying boat was painted in Ryanair livery as part of a proposed sponsorship deal with the Foynes Flying Boat Museum. However, it never flew revenue-generating services for the airline during the one-year marketing scheme.

This was simply marketing, but it worked well, generating an undisclosed net positive in revenue. Part of the appeal of the marketing campaign was the connection between Sandringham Estates and the Short Sandringham flying boats. Sandringham Estates is the ancestral home of the House of Windsor and, at the time, the private retreat of Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1988, Michael O'Leary, formerly an accountant who had handled tax preparation for Tony Ryan and his companies—and a classmate of Declan Ryan—joined Ryanair, first as a financial assistant to Tony Ryan and then as chief financial officer of the company.

That year, the company began leasing ATR 42-300s from Guinness Peat Aviation and launched a business-class service and frequent-flyer program. Both were ended the following year because they violated the company's own no-frills business model.

By 1990, the company had accumulated £20 million in losses. Ergo, a new leader was needed.

That year, Michael O'Leary was dispatched to Dallas to meet with Herb Kelleher, co-founder of Southwest Airlines and an acquaintance of Tony Ryan. O'Leary subsequently cemented himself as CEO of Ryanair.

O'Leary returned with a plan to transform Ryanair into a low-cost carrier modeled after Southwest Airlines.

His strategy was to:

Adopt a simple, all-Boeing 737 fleet.
Pursue expansion over yield.
Create a culture of aggressive cost-cutting.
Re-educate customers to prefer lower prices over frills.

Ryanair implemented a 30-minute turnaround goal to allow aircraft to make more flights per day.

The company then restructured with an additional £20 million investment from Tony Ryan. That same year, the company moved its base from London Luton Airport to London Stansted Airport.

Ryanair switched to a buy-on-board program, reduced its route network from 19 destinations to six, and lowered its cheapest ticket prices from £99 to £59. Today, you can buy a Ryanair ticket for around €22.

By the end of 1990, the airline was on pace to carry 745,000 passengers per year.

In 1995, Ryanair became increasingly impressive under CEO O'Leary, carrying more than two million passengers in a single calendar year to destinations throughout Western and Central Europe.

Ryanair Holdings was established in 1996 as a holding company for Ryanair as the airline continued to grow and acquire various subsidiaries and groups.

In December 2001, competing low-cost airline Go withdrew its service from Dublin due to severe competition from Ryanair. Go Fly Airlines subsequently went out of business amid increasing competition from Ryanair and its cut-rate business practices.

In January 2002, the airline ordered 155 new Boeing 737-800 Next Generation aircraft at what was believed to be a substantial discount due to declining demand following the September 11 attacks. The aircraft were scheduled for delivery over eight years, from 2002 to 2010.

A loss of €3.3 million in the second quarter of 2004 was the airline's first recorded loss in 15 years. However, the airline soon returned to profitability, aided by increasing ancillary fees.

The enlargement of the European Union in May 2004 opened the door to additional routes for Ryanair.

In September 2004, EasyJet announced routes to Ireland for the first time, beginning with the Cork-to-London-Gatwick route. In 2006, EasyJet withdrew its Gatwick-Cork, Gatwick-Shannon, Gatwick-Knock, and Luton-Shannon routes due to competition from Ryanair.

In April 2007, Ryanair CEO O'Leary stated that the airline had a goal of launching a transatlantic low-cost airline. The launch was delayed and ultimately never came to fruition.

In 2023, Ryanair said it had no plans to launch transatlantic routes because doing so would compromise its business practices.

This came as a surprise to absolutely no one. Indeed, surprise would have occurred if Ryanair had actually launched a long-haul transatlantic airline, as doing so would have defied everyone's expectations.

The Aer Lingus Battle

In December 2008, Ryanair launched an official takeover bid for Aer Lingus, Ireland's flag carrier. It offered an all-cash deal of €748 million, representing a 28% premium over the average value of Aer Lingus stock during the preceding 30 days.

In February 2009, Ryanair announced that later that year it would close all airport check-in desks and that passengers would be able to leave their luggage at a bag drop, while everything else would be completed online.

In May 2009, Ryanair abolished airport check-in and replaced it with a fast bag-drop system for passengers checking bags. It also added fees for passengers who failed to check in online—another form of ancillary revenue masquerading as a punitive charge.

The Aer Lingus board rejected the takeover offer outright, with no explanation given. However, we can surmise what the reasoning was, given Ryanair's reputation as a sharp, no-frills carrier and Aer Lingus' status as a full-service legacy flag carrier.

The following month, Ryanair ended the takeover bid after it was rejected by the Irish government on the grounds that it undervalued the flag carrier and would harm competition.

However, Ryanair retained a 30% stake in Aer Lingus. In October 2010, competition regulators in the United Kingdom opened an inquiry due to concerns that Ryanair's stake might reduce competition.

In 2015, after multiple appeals, the Ireland Competition Commission required Ryanair to sell down its stake in Aer Lingus to 5% by selling shares to International Airlines Group (IAG), which completely acquired Aer Lingus that year.

Labor Disputes and Controversies

In May 2010, the drama continued, and the 2010s became increasingly defined by labor-law and workers' rights disputes.

Ryanair was fined €3 million by Italy's civil aviation authority for refusing to pay for lodging and food for passengers stranded due to travel disruptions following the 2010 volcanic eruption in Iceland.

The refusal resulted in a lawsuit. Ryanair lost the case in January 2013, though the company did not appear particularly concerned.

Two years later, in July 2012, a 69-year-old woman, Frances Duff, who had a colostomy, was refused permission to bring her medical kit on board despite having a letter from her doctor explaining why she needed to carry it.

Ryanair boarding staff allegedly asked her to lift her shirt in front of fellow passengers to prove that she had a colostomy bag.

Duff had previously attempted to contact Ryanair three times to inquire about its policy regarding travelers with colostomy bags, but each time, no one answered the phone after half an hour.

After taking Ryanair to court, the parties settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

Moving ahead to 2017, in September and October of that year, Ryanair canceled between 40 and 50 flights per day, representing approximately 2% of its total daily flights.

Flights were canceled with very little notice, sometimes only hours before departure.

Ryanair said the cancellations were intended "to improve its system-wide punctuality," which had dropped significantly during the first two weeks of September. The airline attributed the decline to "ATC capacity delays and strikes, weather disruptions and the impact of increased holiday allocations to pilots and cabin crew."

In subsequent statements, Ryanair acknowledged that it had "messed up" pilot holiday schedules, including a change to the calendar year used to calculate vacations.

The Rise of Ryanair's Subsidiaries

Ryanair had previously operated solely under its Irish Air Operator's Certificate and the Ryanair brand.

However, in April 2017, the company announced that it would launch an independent Polish subsidiary in 2018, operating charter flights from Poland to Mediterranean destinations.

The subsidiary was branded Ryanair Sun and received its Polish Air Operator's Certificate in April 2018. Initially, it operated with one former Ryanair Boeing 737-800 and supplemented its operation with wet-leased aircraft from its parent company.

In late 2018, all Polish-based Ryanair aircraft were transferred to Ryanair Sun.

Ryanair Sun primarily operated scheduled flights on behalf of its parent company using Ryanair's FR flight numbers, such as FR1234.

Ryanair Sun was rebranded as Buzz in 2019.

In December 2017, in an effort to prevent strike action before Christmas, Ryanair agreed to recognize pilots' unions for the first time in its history.

A few months later, in August 2018, pilots in Germany, Sweden, Ireland, Belgium, and the Netherlands walked out for 24 hours, leading to the cancellation of 400 flights.

In March 2018, Ryanair acquired a 25% stake in Austrian-based Laudamotion, founded by Formula 1 legend Niki Lauda. Laudamotion was the successor to Niki, which had folded as a consequence of the collapse of Air Berlin. Ryanair later increased its stake in Laudamotion to 75% and then to 100% in December 2018.

In August 2018, to reduce aircraft turnaround times, Ryanair announced a baggage policy under which passengers had to purchase "Priority Boarding" to carry both a large and a small bag into the cabin, subject to aircraft capacity.

Previously, passengers could carry bags into the cabin without paying an additional fee.

The move came after flights experienced delays caused by excessive luggage at the boarding gate. The policy was later mirrored by fellow European low-cost carrier Wizz Air.

On September 26, 2018, Ryanair was forced to cancel 150 flights scheduled for that day, accounting for roughly 6% of its total flights, due to strikes in Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, and Germany.

The British Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) urged the company to compensate the 2,400 affected passengers under EU Regulation 261. Ryanair initially stated that it would refuse to accept claims for compensation.

In December 2018, the Civil Aviation Authority took legal action against Ryanair over its refusal to compensate thousands of UK-based customers.

In April 2021, the UK High Court rejected Ryanair's claim that it was exempt from awarding compensation because the disruption was caused by "extraordinary circumstances." The ruling was upheld by the Court of Appeal in February 2022.

In December 2022, Ryanair dropped its appeal to the Supreme Court, effectively giving up and agreeing to pay claims for flights canceled because of union-led industrial action.

Earlier that summer, Ryanair had signed a recognition agreement with Unite the Union to enable collective bargaining for 650 directly employed cabin crew operating from Ryanair's UK bases.

In August 2018, Ryanair reached a collective labor agreement with the Italian pilots' union. It signed a deal with Italian cabin crew unions in September 2018.

In September 2018, pilots, cabin crew, and other staff called for strike action over the transition from workers being employed under Irish contracts and subject to Irish legislation to employment under the labor laws of their respective countries, as well as concerns over pay.

Due to lobbying by crew members and pilot walkouts, the airline canceled 250 flights, affecting approximately 40,000 passengers.

The Pandemic and Beyond

We shall wrap this portion of the article up quickly.

Ryanair sued governments that provided aid to state-owned airlines during the pandemic. It subsequently lost every one of these lawsuits.

In August 2025, Ryanair reached a deal with Booking Holdings to allow Ryanair tickets to be sold through brands owned by Booking Holdings, resolving a three-year legal dispute.

In June 2026, the Competition and Markets Authority announced an investigation into Ryanair's policy requiring a parent to pay for a "mandatory family seat" to sit next to their children.

Later that month, Ryanair announced that it would allow parents to sit next to their children for free.

Controversy as a Marketing Strategy

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has deliberately courted controversy through provocative advertising and outlandish comments to generate free publicity for the airline.

Hence: "All publicity is good publicity."

In 2000, Ryanair launched a provocative advertising campaign headlined, and I quote, "Expensive BAstards!", comparing Ryanair's prices with those of British Airways.

British Airways disagreed with the price comparisons and brought legal action against Ryanair.

The High Court sided with Ryanair, ordering BA to make a payment toward Ryanair's court costs.

The judge ruled:

"The complaint amounts to this: that Ryanair exaggerated in suggesting BA is five times more expensive because BA is only three times more expensive."

I kid you not. That was the official wording of the court's ruling.

The Ultimate No-Frills Cabin

To maintain some of the fastest turnaround times in the aviation industry and maximize profit margins, Ryanair utilizes a highly customized and ultra-utilitarian cabin configuration.

The interiors of its Boeing 737 aircraft are stripped of standard convenience features to reduce cleaning times and aircraft weight.

The seats are non-reclining and lack seat-back pockets. Safety instruction cards are affixed directly to the backs of the seats rather than distributed as printed booklets. This is the same location where other airlines feature their in-flight entertainment screens.

Additionally, life jackets are stowed in overhead compartments rather than underneath individual passenger seats, allowing cabin crew to perform safety inspections more rapidly between flights.

On the ground, the airline severely limits the use of expensive airport jet bridges, instead opting for passengers to board via tarmac walkways.

To facilitate this process independently of airport ground equipment, Ryanair's Boeing aircraft are equipped with built-in airstairs beneath the forward cabin door.

Combined with traditional mobile boarding stairs at the rear door, this configuration allows for dual-door boarding and deplaning, significantly lowering airport operational fees and helping maintain tight scheduling.

There are no cabin classes to discuss because Ryanair offers a standard "bus-style" cabin for everyone. The airline primarily operates a single aircraft family: the Boeing 737.

Ryanair has also received the Boeing 737 MAX 200, a specialized 200-seat variant based on the 737 MAX 8, configured in a single class. The aircraft was designed specifically with high-density operators such as Ryanair in mind.

The Ultimate Low-Cost King

And there you have it!

Thank you for coming along with us on this journey as we examine the ultimate low-cost king.

Love it or hate it, Ryanair has fundamentally changed European aviation. Its relentless focus on cost control, aircraft utilization, ancillary revenue, airport fees, turnaround times, and low headline fares has created one of the most recognizable business models in modern commercial aviation.