The Indo Daily: 40 years of low fares and high drama – How Ryanair changed Europe one controversy at a time
Under the leadership of Michael O'Leary, who moved from being the airline's financial controller to CEO in 1994, Ryanair continued its 'no-frills' model by standardising its fleet to a single aircraft type (the Boeing 737) and focussing its services to secondary airports near large cities with lower landing fees.
O'Leary's new regime introduced charges for everything from checked bags to seat selection and onboard refreshments. By the early 2000s, Ryanair had grown into one of Europe's largest and most profitable airlines, carrying tens of millions of passengers annually.
O'Leary has also never been shy of putting his head above the parapet. In one publicity stunt in 2010, he turned up alongside a hearse at Dublin Airport, mourning the 'death of Irish tourism' due to the opening of Terminal 2.
In 2009, O'Leary suggested in an interview that Ryanair was considering charging passengers to use the toilet on flights, an idea that never came to pass.
Today on The Indo Daily, Kevin Doyle is joined by John Mulligan, Senior Business Journalist with the Irish Independent, to look back at 40 years of low fares and high drama at one of Ireland's most divisive companies.
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