Based out of Ireland, Ryanair services almost 60 million passengers a year on over 950 routes to 150 destinations throughout Europe. Ryanair is known as Europe's first low fare airline and maintains a reputation for rock bottom flight deals.
Launched in 1985 by the Ryan family, Ryanair's first flight schedule was on a 15-seat plane flying from Waterford, Ireland to London, England. In 1987, the airline acquired it's first jet and added 15 routes between England and Ireland competing with national airlines in those nations. In 1990, the airline went through a re-structuring, in which Ryanair re-positioned itself as a low fare airline with no-frills flights. By 1993, Ryanair was servicing over 1 million customers annually and by 2008 that number had grown to almost 60 million.
Ryanair began service on a 15-seater Bandeirante aircraft in 1985. The following year they added three BAC1-11 aircrafts, leased from Tarom, the Romanian state airline, to their fleet with an additional three jets the next year. Today, Ryanair's fleet consists of 181 Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft.
For the first 10 years of its business (from 1985-1995) Ryanair's routes were restricted mostly to flights between Ireland and Britain. In 1995, the airline actually beat out AerLingus and British Airways on the Dublin to London route, carrying more passengers than either airline. After the European Union deregulated the passenger airline business throughout Europe in 1996, Ryanair added flights to Scandinavia, Paris and Brussels. By 2008, Ryanair was servicing over 150 destinations throughout Europe as well as Morocco and the Canary Islands. In 2006, Ryanair became the world's first airline to transport over 4 million passengers in one month.
During their re-structuring in 1990, Ryanair changed their operational policy on in-flight services eliminating free meals, beverages and newspapers. They are considered a "no frills" airline. While they do have extremely low fares, they are known for their "nickel and diming" of passengers through extra fees--checked baggage, airport check-in, priority seating, infant fees and more. The airline has also been battling bad publicity related to service and their treatment of persons with disabilities.
By utilizing the most up-to-date aircraft engine technology and maximizing the number of passengers on each flight, Ryanair has claimed the title of Europe's greenest airline. Ryanair also states that its operational decision not to offer free beverages and newspapers has greatly diminished its waste output on each flight.
