Ryanair is the largest and lowest priced airline in Europe. The company has 800 routes that it flies and will be ferrying about 60 million people this year. This airline was launched in 1982 with one sole aircraft that could carry a grand total of 15 people.

The aircraft was so small that the crew had to be just over 5 feet in height in order to move about. The Ryan family launched their company with very small capital and a staff of about two dozen individuals.

Today Ryanair operates over 150 new Boeing aircraft and employ over 5000 workers.

In 1986, this company began the very first airfare war that Europeans had ever seen. This fare war began when they posted a 99 GBP fare for flying the Dublin-London trip. This price was far lower than the next competitor’s price of over 200 GBP.

This resulted in the company having over 80,000 customers fly on their airline during their first operational year. The company leased its first 3 jet means of transport in 1987 and it also added 13 more routes to create a total of 15.

In 1989, four years after the airline’s debut they transported well over 600,000 customers. This was a banner year because they also had a staff which numbered close to 500.

By 1990 the company had sustained millions in losses and had to reinvent itself in a more cost-efficient manner. The family invested a great deal of money to save the airline and changed their business practices in order to incorporate the cheap fares and business practices that were used in the success of Southwest Airlines.

The food and drinks that had been offered in the past were removed and the cheap travel fares were lowered to 59 pounds for return flights.

This offer saw people lining up in the streets for up to 72 hours just to get in on the cheap low tickets that were being offered.

In 1991 the airline company was able to make its first profit even though the entire air industry was having problems and customer numbers were dropping in every country. In 1992 the company decreased the number of scheduled flight routes to only 6 and lowered fares again.

This created an increase in their customers of almost 50%. This was the first year that Ryanair was able to carry more than one hundred thousand paying customers in just 31 days.

The total number of customers for the airline in 1992 was just shy of the magic 1,000,000 mark.

In 1993 Ryanair and their cheap low fares went head to head with Aer Lingus by creating daily flights to Birmingham from the Dublin Airport. This was the year that they also broke the million number mark for annual customers on board their planes.

In 1995, ten years after their modest debut, Ryanair became the largest airline operating the Dublin to London route. It was able to surge ahead of both Aer Lingus and British Airways. More than two million people fly the airline this year.

In 1997 the airline was able to operate throughout Europe thanks to deregulation changes and they were known for their flights being on time.

In 2000 the company opens a website that is the only one to offer low airfare in Europe. They also offered the lowest costs on travel insurance, lodging and hotels and rail travel.

The airline has become known as the favorite airline of the European public, but it is becoming a world favorite as well. Today Ryanair remains popular for its continuing low prices and prompt and efficient services on all routes.

The company website remains one of the largest in the world and millions of people come to this site daily to check on the newest and cheapest fares that are offered.

Why is Ryan Air so cheap?

Ryan Air is cheaper both to buy and maintain. For example, Ryanair purchase seats that don’t recline. Equally, the lack of back pockets on these seats means less time spent cleaning between flights, thus saving more time.