Ryanair was founded in 1984 by Tony Ryan, Christopher Ryan, and Liam Lonergan. Flying began in 1985 with a 15-seat Embraer Bandeirante, a small plane driven by propellers. It hopped between Waterford in southeast Ireland and London Gatwick. At first the airline tried to compete like a traditional carrier, and that nearly bankrupted it. By 1990 it was losing money on almost every route.
The fix came from Michael O'Leary, then an adviser to the Ryan family. He studied Southwest Airlines in Texas and rebuilt Ryanair as Europe's first true low-cost carrier. The recipe was simple: one aircraft type, smaller secondary airports, fast turnarounds, and rock-bottom fares with every extra charged separately. Ryanair listed on the Dublin and NASDAQ stock exchanges in 1997, the year EU rules opened Europe's skies.
Growth then exploded. From bases in Dublin and London Stansted, Ryanair spread to more than 90 bases in Europe and North Africa. For years it has carried more international passengers than any airline on earth, over 180 million a year across more than 230 airports. The group now includes Buzz in Poland, Malta Air, and Lauda Europe. Its public image is combative, but its profit margins are the industry's best.