The low-cost carrier recently celebrated its 40th. How did it all begin…
Founded in 1984 as Danren Enterprises by Christopher Ryan, Liam Lonegan and Tony Ryan (founder of Guinness Peat Aviation. The name change happened very quickly. Its first flight in 1985 was WAT-LGW, using a 15 seat Embraer Bandeirante turboprop. A second route added in 1986, DUB-LTN, in direct competition with the Aer Lingus/BA duopoly. Despite the Irish Government’s refusal in order to protect Aer Lingus (EI), the UK Government gave the go ahead. With 2 routes and 2 aircraft, 82,000 passengers were carried in one year.
In 1986, the directors took an 85% stake in London European Airways. From 1987, the provided onward connections LTN-AMS and LTN-BRU. By 1988, London European began operations as Ryanair Europe, later starting charter flights. The same year saw the arrival of Michael O’Leary as Chief Financial Officer. With decreasing profits, the company underwent restructuring in 1990. This as a result of Mr O’Leary’s visit to US carrier Southwest. The future strategy was simple. A one aircraft type fleet, the B737, pursuing expansion over yield. A simple culture of cost-cutting and “re-educating” customers to accept lower prices instead of “frills”. By cutting turnaround time to 30 minutes, aircraft could perform more flights per day. Mr O’Leary ventured that lower fares attracted new customers, rather than Ryanair competing directly with other airlines.
In 1992, EU deregulation allowed carriers from one EU country the right to operate scheduled services between other EU states. This represented a major opportunity for Ryanair. After successful flotation on Dublin and Nasdaq stock exchanges, the airline launched new routes. In 1998, a massive order for 45 B737-800 was placed, with an estimated value of $2 billion!
In 1994, Mr O’Leary appointed CEO, the company’s 6th. Tony Ryan wanted the PR stunts to be less aggressive, his CEO countered by suggesting he leave the board.
In late 2001, an order placed for 155 B737-800, believed to be at a substantial discount. Delivery was scheduled for 2002-2010. Around 100 delivered by end 2005, although there were slight delays caused by a Boeing machinists strike.
The ailing competitor, Buzz was acquired from KLM in April 2003. Many legacy carriers had ventured into the low-cost market with poor results.
The CEO can never be accused of being camera shy, with some on the aviation front line suggesting he should think before opening his mouth. So, here’s a selection of what’s to be believed and what remains a “flight of fancy”.
In October 2006, Ryanair launched a bid for Aer Lingus. It was subsequently rejected as the EI board considered it undervalued the company. Another attempt in 2008 was also rejected. Then in April 2007, Mr O’Leary announced plans to launch a long-haul airline around 2009, under a different brand. It would offer both low costs, around €10 and business class to rival Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class. Flights would operate from Ryanair’s existing European bases to 6 in the USA. Main US city airports would not feature, instead smaller airports would enable better operating costs and increased efficiency. The new airline would be called RyanAtlantic. However, B787 and A350XWB availability meant that the launch delayed until 2014 at the earliest.
Back to its fleet. In 2009, Ryanair announced it had been in talks with Boeing and Airbus about an order of up to 200 aircraft. Mr O’Leary considering Airbus if the price was right. However, Airbus’s Chief Commercial Officer denied any such discussions.
With bases around Europe becoming the norm, operating under a single Air Operators Certificate (AOC) was not feasible. The acquisition of Laudamotion in December 2018 meant that Ryanair no longer operated an all-Boeing fleet. A new airline was also established, Malta Air. Not to be confused with the island’s flag carrier.
Having ridden out the effects of Covid, the fleet increased with the addition of B737-MAX8. During the controversy surrounding this aircraft, the airline decided to rename it B737-MAX-200.
There’s so much more to report on this low-cost airline’s exploits. To passengers, it’s about managing expectations. To aviation enthusiasts, it’s the excitement of seeing a “typical Ryanair” landing, featuring bounces and plenty of tyre smoke!
With a current fleet of over 600 aircraft, let’s not forget their 2 bizjets. The Bombardier Challenger 3500 and Learjet 45 are used to ferry engineers, parts around crew around their network when an aircraft goes tech. It’s also believed that 1 of the 166 BAC One-Eleven 500, leased from TAROM, was crewed by former Romanian Air Force pilots. However, it’s difficult to find any evidence to support passenger claims of spilt drinks, etc…
In other news –
Jet2 – now operating HiFly A330 9H-MFS from BHX. The leisure carrier is encountering difficulties with using its own aircraft, partly due to the delay in A321neo deliveries.
Some aviation media outlets have recently reported possible challenging times ahead for the company. They cited rising costs due to fleet age, fuel and other operational problems. The package holiday side is also encountering reduced revenue to customers changing their holiday habits (changing duration from traditional 7/14 nights) and overseas accommodation price increases. Despite widespread that reports that Jet2’s shares had taken a dip, there seems little to support this.
And finally –
Emirates – has anyone seen the latest livery, showcasing their parcel delivery service? If so, what are your thoughts?
Information courtesy of Wikipedia, SimpleFlying
Images courtesy of First Versions, Emirates
©TPSC, LadyJet2 and photo/diagram suppliers