Summary

  • Ryanair has celebrated the 39th anniversary of its first flight with a sale, with prices starting at €19.85 ($21.52).
  • The airline’s growth has rapidly accelerated in the 1990s, when it introduced Boeing 737 aircraft.
  • Now, Ryanair has become the largest airline in Europe in terms of weekly departures.

Ryanair, the Ireland-based low-cost carrier with several subsidiaries across Europe, has launched a special flight sale to mark the 39th anniversary of its first-ever flight between Waterford Airport (WAT) and London Gatwick Airport (LGW), which occurred on July 8, 1985. The prices for the anniversary flights start at €19.85 ($21.52).

Flying turboprops

While Ryanair has now grown to become one of the largest European airlines, including its group members, the low-cost carrier had a humble beginning, flying turboprops, including such small aircraft as the Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante or the Hawker Siddeley HS 748.

In an archived broadcast, Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), the Irish public service broadcaster, showed pictures and videos from onboard the Irish airline’s first flight from WAT to LGW in 1985. According to the broadcast, a party of VIPs, including the mayor of Waterford, boarded the first flight, the airport’s first international flight.

“It was hoped that the new route will make the southeast of Ireland more attractive to business and industry.”

A Ryanair EMB-110 parked at an airport.

Even at the time, Ryanair tried to compete against incumbent airlines with lower prices. The RTÉ footage detailed that the Irish carrier’s first route was priced at IR£198 ($272.60) for a return flight, compared to the price of £210 ($289.1) offered by other airlines flying between Dublin, Ireland, and London, the United Kingdom.

Soon enough, Ryanair joined the party and began flying the HS 748 between Dublin Airport (DUB) and London Luton Airport (LTN), offering tickets even cheaper than on the WAT–LGW route, severely undercutting the main airlines flying to London, including Aer Lingus and British Airways.

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Massive growth

Its growth really spurred when it began introducing the Boeing 737 aircraft, starting off with the 737-200s, which were acquired from various operators, ch-aviation data showed. The Irish airline began introducing its 737 in 1994, coinciding with Michael O’Leary, the outspoken chief executive officer (CEO) of Ryanair, beginning his chief executive tenure with the Irish airline. He previously worked as a director within the company.

Between 1995 and 1999, Ryanair grew from carrying just over 1 million passengers to around 5 million travelers, ending 1999 with €295.8 million ($320.7 million) in revenue and an adjusted profit for the financial year (FY) 1999, ending on March 31, 1999, of €57.8 million ($62.6 million).

Ryanair Boeing 737-800 landing in the rain shutterstock_2218063157

Photo: Bradley Caslin | Shutterstock

FY1999 was a monumental year for the Irish airline. On March 19, 1999, Ryanair took delivery of its first Boeing 737-800 Next Generation (NG) aircraft, which over the years, has become the backbone of its fleet. Ch-aviation indicated that now, Ryanair has 395 Boeing 737-800 aircraft, having retired 329 of them, including its very first 737-800, registered as EI-CSA. The aircraft, now registered as N916BR, was converted into a freighter.

Nevertheless, by 2005, Ryanair was carrying 27 million passengers annually, ending FY2005 with €1.3 billion in revenue ($1.4 billion) and an adjusted profit after tax of €268 million ($290.6 million). One of the driving factors of Ryanair’s growth? This quote from the airline’s FY2003 report summed it up:

Boeing has granted Ryanair certain price concessions with regard to the 737-800 aircraft. These will take the form of credit memoranda to the group for the amount of such concessions, which Ryanair may apply toward the purchase of goods and services from Boeing or toward certain payments, other than advance payments, in respect of the purchase of the aircraft under the 2002 Boeing Contract [when Ryanair initially ordered 100 Boeing 737-800 aircraft – ed. note].”

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Largest European airline

Data from the aviation analytics company Cirium showed that among airlines that have departing flights from Europe, Ryanair dominates the continent, and by a large margin. In July, the Irish low-cost carrier, excluding its subsidiary in the UK with a separate air operator’s certificate (AOC), had the largest number of weekly departures, 23,501, amounting to 4.4 million weekly seats.

Airline

Weekly departures (July 2024)

Weekly seats (July 2024)

Ryanair (exlucding UK-based AOC, Ryanair UK)

23,501

4.4 million

easyJet

12,805

2.3 million

Lufthansa

8,062

1.3 million

Several Ryanair Boeing 737s parked oon the apron at London Stansted Airport.

Photo: Nicolas Economou | Shutterstock
 

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