Ryanair facts for kids
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| Founded | 28 November 1984 |
|---|---|
| Commenced operations | 8 July 1985 |
| Operating bases |
List of bases
Agadir
Alicante Athens Barcelona Bari Beauvais Belfast–International Bergamo Berlin Billund Birmingham Bologna Bordeaux Bournemouth Bratislava Brindisi Bristol Bucharest–Otopeni Budapest Cagliari Catania Chania Charleroi Cologne/Bonn Copenhagen Corfu Cork Dublin (headquarters) Dubrovnik East Midlands Edinburgh Faro Fes Gdańsk Girona Glasgow–Prestwick Gothenburg Hahn Ibiza Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Katowice Kaunas Kraków Lamezia Terme Leeds/Bradford Lisbon Liverpool London–Luton London–Stansted (largest base) Madrid |
| Subsidiaries |
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| Fleet size | 575 |
| Destinations | 235 |
| Parent company | Ryanair Holdings PLC |
| Headquarters | Swords, Dublin, Ireland |
| Key people |
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| Revenue |  €10.775 billion (2023) |
| Net income | €1.314 billion (2023) |
| Total assets | €16.406 billion (2023) |
| Total equity | €5.643 billion (2023) |
| Employees | 19,000 (2022) |
Ryanair Holdings PLC is an Irish airline group. It is known for offering very low-cost flights. Its main office is in Swords, Dublin, Ireland. The group includes several airlines like Ryanair DAC, Malta Air, Buzz, Lauda Europe, and Ryanair UK. Ryanair DAC, the oldest airline in the group, started in 1984. The main company, Ryanair Holdings, was set up in 1996 to manage Ryanair and its other airlines.
Ryanair has grown very quickly. This happened after rules for airlines in Europe changed in 1997. Their idea of offering low-cost flights became very popular. The group now flies over 500 planes. They connect more than 40 countries in Europe, North Africa (Morocco), and the Middle East (Israel and Jordan). Their main bases are in Dublin, London Stansted, and Milan Bergamo. Ryanair is the biggest airline in Ireland. In 2016, it became the world's largest airline for international flights.
Contents
Ryanair's Journey: From Small to Big
Since it started in 1984, Ryanair has grown a lot. It began with short flights from Waterford to London Gatwick. Now, it is Europe's biggest airline. Over 19,000 people work for the company.
The airline became a public company in 1997. This means people could buy shares in it. The money they raised helped the airline grow across Europe.
How Ryanair Started
Ryanair was founded in 1984. The founders were Christopher Ryan, Liam Lonergan, and Tony Ryan. Tony Ryan also started Guinness Peat Aviation. The airline was first called "Danren Enterprises" but soon changed to "Ryanair". Flights began in 1985. They used a small 15-seat plane called an Embraer Bandeirante. It flew between Waterford and Gatwick Airport.
In 1986, Ryanair added a new route from Dublin to Luton. This meant they were competing with bigger airlines like Aer Lingus and British Airways. At first, the Irish government did not want this new route. But the British government approved it. With two routes, the airline carried 82,000 passengers in one year.
Michael O'Leary joined the company in 1988. He became the chief financial officer. In 1990, the company changed how it worked. It started to copy the low-fare idea from Southwest Airlines in the USA.
Growing Across Europe
In 1992, new rules in Europe made it easier for airlines to fly between different EU countries. This was a big chance for Ryanair to grow. After selling shares to the public, the airline started flights to places like Stockholm, Beauvais (near Paris), and Charleroi (near Brussels). In 1998, Ryanair ordered 45 new Boeing 737-800 planes. This was a huge order worth $2 billion.
Michael O'Leary became the chief executive officer in 1994.
In 2000, Ryanair launched its website. Booking flights online helped the airline cut costs. They could sell tickets directly to passengers. Within a year, three-quarters of all bookings were made online.
In 2001, Ryanair opened a new base at Charleroi Airport. Later that year, they ordered 155 more 737-800 planes from Boeing. In 2003, Ryanair bought another airline called Buzz from KLM.
Ryanair kept adding new routes and bases. This helped them carry more and more passengers. By 2005, they claimed to carry 20% more passengers in Europe than British Airways.
In 2006, Ryanair tried to buy Aer Lingus, another Irish airline. Aer Lingus said no to the offer. Ryanair tried again in 2008, but the Irish government also rejected it.
In 2007, Ryanair started charging passengers to check in at the airport. They said this would help lower their costs. By October 2009, all check-in had to be done online.
Recent Developments
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In April 2010, many flights in Europe were cancelled because of a volcano in Iceland. Ryanair then agreed to follow EU rules to pay back stranded passengers. In 2011, Ryanair opened a large maintenance hangar at Glasgow Prestwick International Airport.
In 2013, Ryanair announced changes to improve customer service. These included lower fees for reprinting boarding passes and allowing a free second small carry-on bag. In 2014, Ryanair moved into a new, larger head office in Dublin.
In September 2014, Ryanair agreed to buy up to 200 Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes. This deal was worth over $22 billion.
In 2016, Ryanair started a new holiday service called Ryanair Holidays. It offers flights, hotels, and transfers.
New Airlines in the Group
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For many years, Ryanair only operated as one airline. But starting in 2018, it began to add other airlines to its group.
- In 2017, Ryanair announced a Polish airline called Ryanair Sun. It started charter flights from Poland. In 2019, Ryanair Sun was renamed Buzz.
- In 2018, Ryanair bought a share in an Austrian airline called Laudamotion. It was later fully bought by Ryanair and renamed "Lauda".
- Ryanair UK was set up in 2017 because of Brexit. This airline helps Ryanair keep flying easily in the UK.
In 2019, each airline in the Ryanair group got its own CEO. Michael O'Leary became the Group CEO.
In June 2019, Ryanair announced a new airline with the Government of Malta. It is called Malta Air. It took over Ryanair's flights from Malta.
Recent Times (2020s)
The COVID-19 pandemic had a big effect on Ryanair. In May 2020, the airline announced it would cut 3,000 jobs. They also stopped most flights until June 2020. In July 2020, Ryanair reported a loss of €185 million. This was a big change from making a profit the year before. By the end of 2020, the number of passengers dropped by 83% compared to 2019.
In December 2020, Ryanair ordered 75 more Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes. This brought their total order to 210 aircraft. In May 2023, Ryanair ordered 300 more Boeing 737-MAX 10 planes. This deal was worth $40 billion.
In December 2023, Ryanair became the most valuable airline in the world. It was also the largest airline outside the USA.
Ryanair announced a large investment in Morocco for Summer 2024. They plan to have over 1,100 weekly flights on 175 routes. This includes 35 new routes. They will also offer very low fares on 11 domestic routes in Morocco. This is the first time they have done this in Africa.
How Ryanair Works
Business Overview
Ryanair has grown a lot over the years. Here are some key facts about their business:
- They carry many passengers. In 2023, they carried 169 million passengers.
- Their planes are usually very full. In 2023, 93% of seats were filled.
- They have a large number of aircraft. In 2023, they had 537 planes.
- They fly to many airports and countries. In 2023, they served 222 airports in 36 countries.
- The number of employees has also grown. In 2023, they had over 22,000 employees.
Ryanair's Main Office
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Ryanair's main office is in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. They moved into this new office in 2014. Before that, their office was at Dublin Airport.
Who Ryanair Competes With
Ryanair has many low-cost competitors. For example, Aer Lingus also started offering low fares.
Ryanair competes strongly with other airlines. If another airline starts a route that Ryanair flies, Ryanair might lower its prices a lot. This happened when MyTravelLite started flying from Birmingham to Dublin. Ryanair then offered competing flights until MyTravelLite stopped.
In 2004, EasyJet, another big low-cost airline, started flying to Ireland. They began with a route from Cork to London Gatwick. EasyJet later stopped some of its routes to Ireland.
Ryanair also competes by choosing airports carefully. For example, when Wizz Air moved its flights in Poland to a new low-cost airport, Ryanair also started new routes from the same airport. Many of these routes were the same as Wizz Air's.
Where Ryanair Flies
Ryanair's biggest base is at London-Stansted. Its home base in Dublin Airport is also very important. Ryanair has bases all over Europe, some parts of the Middle East, and North Africa.
Ryanair often chooses to fly to smaller airports. These airports are usually outside big cities. This helps the company save money on landing fees. It also helps planes turn around quickly. For example, Ryanair calls Bratislava Airport in Slovakia "Bratislava Vienna". Vienna is about 80 km away in another country. Sometimes, these smaller airports are actually closer to the city than the main airport, like Rome Ciampino Airport.
However, Ryanair also flies to some major airports. These include Amsterdam Schiphol, Stockholm Arlanda, Athens, and Madrid Barajas. They started flying more to primary airports to attract business travelers.
Ryanair uses a "point-to-point" system. This means flights go directly from one airport to another. Most traditional airlines use a "hub and spoke" system. In that system, passengers often change planes at a main airport. In 2017, Ryanair started offering connecting flights at Rome Fiumicino Airport.
Even though Ryanair is an Irish airline, it has a strong presence in many other countries. These include France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Italy is their biggest market, with many bases.
Ryanair also flies to sunny holiday spots. These include places in Sicily, the Canary Islands, Cyprus, and the Greek Islands. In 2014, they planned to create a major hub in Israel. In 2018, Ryanair cut many flights from Glasgow Airport because of airport fees.
Top Airports for Ryanair
Ryanair flies to many destinations from its top airports.
| Airport | IATA | Destinations |
|---|---|---|
 Dublin |
DUB | 122 |
 London-Stansted |
STN | 95 |
| Manchester |
MAN | 87 |
 Bergamo |
BGY | 81 |
 Vienna |
VIE | 77 |
 Malaga |
AGP | 77 |
| Alicante |
ALC | 75 |
 Kraków |
KRK | 74 |
 Brussels–Charleroi |
CRL | 73 |
| Palma de Mallorca |
PMI | 71 |
| Edinburgh |
EDI | 64 |
 Malta |
MLA | 61 |
 Berlin |
BER | 58 |
| Barcelona |
BCN | 58 |
 Porto |
OPO | 57 |
| Lisbon |
LIS | 53 |
| Palermo |
PMO | 52 |
| Bologna |
BLQ | 51 |
 Marseille |
MRS | 48 |
How Ryanair Chooses Where to Fly
When Ryanair talks with airports, they ask for very low fees. They also ask for help with marketing. If an airport does not agree to new deals, Ryanair might threaten to move its flights elsewhere.
Ryanair's popularity means it can experiment with new routes. They might fly to a low-cost airport hoping that their presence will create demand for flights there.
Sometimes, Ryanair has disagreements with airports. For example, in 2006, they stopped flights from Dublin to Cardiff because they could not agree on fees. In 2016, Ryanair cut flights from Rygge airport in Norway. The airport then decided to close completely.
More recently, Ryanair has started using larger airports. They pay the normal fees at these airports. Examples include Barcelona, Oslo, and Manchester.
Ryanair's Aircraft Fleet
Current Aircraft
As of August 2023, the Ryanair Group uses these aircraft:
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Operator | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320-200 | 27 | — | 180 | Lauda Europe | ||
| Boeing 737-700 | 1 | — | 148 | Buzz | Used for holiday charters operated for Polish tour companies. SP-RUM | |
| Boeing 737-800 | 410 | 222 | — | 189 | Ryanair | Largest operator. |
| 125 | Malta Air | |||||
| 50 | Buzz | |||||
| 13 | Ryanair UK | |||||
| Boeing 737 MAX 10 | — | 150 | 228 | TBA | Order with 150 options. Deliveries from 2027. |
|
| Boeing 737 MAX 200 | 136 | 74 | 74 | 197 | Ryanair | Largest operator. Deliveries until 2025. |
| 36 | Malta Air | |||||
| 13 | Buzz | |||||
| Total | 574 | 224 | ||||
Past Aircraft
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Ryanair has used these types of aircraft in the past:
- ATR 42-300
- BAC One-Eleven 500
- Convair 580
- Boeing 737-200
- Boeing 737-300
- Boeing 737-400
- Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante
- Hawker Siddeley HS 748
- Short S-25 Sunderland 5
Developing the Fleet
Ryanair's fleet reached 200 aircraft for the first time in 2009. All Ryanair planes have special wingtips called winglets. These help the planes fly better and save fuel.
Ryanair also owns four Learjet 45 business jets. These are used to quickly move maintenance staff and small aircraft parts.
In 2013, Ryanair ordered 175 new Boeing 737-800s. In 2014, they ordered 100 new Boeing 737 MAX 8s. They also had options for 100 more. In 2014, Ryanair became the first airline to order the Boeing 737 MAX 200. This version of the plane can carry 200 passengers.
After delays with the 737 MAX planes, the first 737 MAX 200 was delivered to Ryanair in June 2021. In 2023, Ryanair started adding new winglets to its older 737-800 planes. These new winglets help save 1.5% more fuel.
Accidents and Incidents
- On 10 November 2008, Ryanair Flight 4102 had an emergency landing in Rome. This happened after birds hit both engines. Two crew members and eight passengers had minor injuries. The plane was damaged too much to be repaired.
- On 23 May 2021, Ryanair Flight 4978 was flying from Athens to Vilnius. It was forced to land in Minsk, Belarus, because of a false bomb threat. A Belarusian fighter jet escorted the plane. A journalist and his girlfriend were removed from the plane and arrested in Minsk. This event caused international concern.
- On 9 April 2023, Ryanair Flight 5542 from Liverpool to Dublin made an emergency landing. The front landing gear was damaged. No one was seriously hurt, but one person was treated for shock.
See also
In Spanish: Ryanair para niños
- List of airlines
- List of companies of Ireland
- List of low-cost airlines
