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Ryanair is one of Europe's most controversial airlines, praised and criticised in equal measure. Its supporters praise its commitment to exceptionally low fares, its radical management, its populism, and its willingness to challenge what Ryanair calls the 'establishment' within the airline industry. Critics, meanwhile, have attacked its labor union policies, and have charged that it practises deceptive advertising. Over the years it has evolved into the world's most profitable airline, running at remarkable margins by relentlessly driving costs down. Ryanair has been characterised by rapid and continuing expansion, enabled by the deregulation of the air industry in Europe in 1997.
Ryanair Boeing 737.
Ryanair was founded in 1985 by Irish businessman Dr Tony Ryan. The airline began with a small 15 seater turbo propeller-engine plane flying between WaterfordThis article is about the city in Ireland. For other uses of the name, see Waterford, disambiguation''. Waterford Irish: Port Lairge is, historically, the capital of County Waterford in Ireland, though today the city is administered separately from the co and London Gatwick with the aim of breaking the duopolyA duopoly is a form of oligopoly where only two producers are present in a given market. In the field of industrial organization, it is most commonly studied form of oligopoly due its simplicity. Modern American politics has been described as a duopoly si on LondonLondon is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England, and with over seven million inhabitants in the Greater London area, is the second-most populous conurbation in Europe (after Moscow). From being Londinium the capital of the Roman province of Bri- Ireland flights at that time held by British AirwaysFor the 1930s airline of similar name see British Airways Ltd. British Airways is the largest airline of the United Kingdom. It is also one of the largest airlines in the world, with the greatest number of flights from Europe to North America. History Bri and Aer LingusAer Lingus ( IATA designator EI is the national airline of Ireland and one of the most easily recognised airlines in the world thanks to its distinctive logo and livery. Based in Dublin, Ireland it operates over 30 aircraft serving Europe and the United S. In 19861986 is a common year starting on Wednesday. Events January January 1 Spain and Portugal enter the European Community January 1 Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands and is separated from the Netherlands Antilles. January 9 After losing a pa the company added a second route - flying Dublin- London Gatwick in direct competition to the BA/ Aer Lingus duopoly for the first time. With two routes and two planes, they carried 82,000 passengers that year.
Passenger numbers continued to increase, but the airline generally ran at a loss, and by 1991 was in need of restructuring. Michael O'Leary was charged with the task of making the airline profitable. Dr Ryan encouraged him to visit the USA to study the 'low fares/no frills' model being used by Southwest Airlines. O'Leary quickly learnt that the key to low fares was a quick turn-around time, no frills and no business class.
O'Leary returned convinced that a no-frills airline could make huge inroads into the national carrier-dominated European air market. By 1995, thanks to the adoption of a no-frills model, Ryanair celebrated its 10th birthday by carrying 2.25 million passengers that year. It had become the largest carrier on all its routes.
After EU deregulation of the air industry in Europe in 1997, Ryanair was ready to take on the continent. After a highly successful flotation of Ryanair on the Dublin Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ Stock exchanges, the airline launched services to Stockholm, Oslo, Paris and Brussels. Flush with new capital, the airline placed a massive $2bn order for 45 new Boeing 737-800 series aircraft in 1998. The airline was voted Airline of the Year by the Irish Transport Users Committee and voted Best Managed National Airline by International Aviation Week magazine.
Ever keen to drive costs down, the airline launched its website in 2000, with the aim of cutting flight prices by selling direct to passengers and excluding the costs imposed by travel agents. Within a year the website was handling three quarters of all bookings, and now accounts for 95% of the total.
Ryanair launched a new hub of operation in Brussels Charleroi in 2001. Later that year, the airline ordered 150 new Boeing 737-800 series aircraft from Boeing at what was believed to be a substantial discount, to be delivered over eight years from 2002 to 2010. In 2002 Ryanair launched 26 new routes and established a base in Frankfurt-Hahn Airport, its European expansion firmly on track. In 2003, Ryanair announced the order of a further 100 new Boeing 737-800 series aircraft from Boeing, and in February a third continental base was opened at Milan-Bergamo in Italy.
In April Ryanair acquired its ailing competitor Buzz from KLM, at a knock-down price. Expansion continued apace with the launch of a base at Stockholm (Skavsta) , Sweden. By the end of 2003, the airline flew 127 routes, of which 60 had opened in the previous 12 months. The airline launched two more bases in the first half of 2004, at Rome (Ciampino) and Barcelona (Girona) , increasing the total to 11 hubs.
During 2004, Michael O'Leary warned of a 'bloodbath' during the winter from which only two or three low-cost airlines would emerge, the expectation being that these would by Ryanair and Easyjet. A modest loss of 3.3 million Euros in the second quarter of 2004 was the airline's first recorded loss for 15 years, indicating turbulent times in the low fares market. However, the enlargement of the European Union in 2004 is expected to lead to more new routes as Ryanair and other budget airlines tap the markets of the EU accession countries. Since the accession countries joined the EU on 1 May 2004, Ryanair has opened new routes to three of the ten new EU member states.
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