Ryanair is an Irish ultra-low-cost carrier founded in 1984. It is headquartered in Swords, Dublin, with its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports. It forms the largest part of the Ryanair Holdings family of airlines and has Ryanair UK, Buzz, and Malta Air as sister airlines. In 2016, Ryanair was the largest European budget airline by scheduled passengers flown and carried more international passengers than any other airline.

Ryanair operates more than 400 Boeing 737-800 aircraft, with a single 737-700 used as a charter aircraft, as a backup, and for pilot training. The airline has been characterised by its rapid expansion, a result of the deregulation of the aviation industry in Europe in 1997 and the success of its low-cost business model. Ryanair’s route network serves 40 countries in Europe, North Africa (Morocco), and the Middle East (Israel, Lebanon and Jordan).

Twenty percent of Ryanair’s revenue is generated from ancillary revenue; that is, income from sources other than ticket fares. In 2009, ancillary revenue was at €598 million, compared to total revenue of €2,942 million.

Ryanair has been described by the consumer magazine Holiday Which? as being the worst offender for charging for optional extras. As part of the low-cost business model, the airline charges fees, which can be related to alternative services such as using airport check-in facilities instead of the online service fee and paying by credit card. It also charges for extra services like checked-in luggage and it offers food and drinks for purchase as part of a buy onboard programme.

In 2009, Ryanair abolished airport check-in and replaced it with a fast bag drop for those passengers checking in bags. The option of checking in at the airport for €10 has been discontinued, and all passengers are required to check-in online and print their own boarding pass. Passengers arriving at the airport without a pre-printed online check-in will have to pay €55/£45 for their boarding pass to be re-issued, whilst customers unable to check-in luggage online are asked to pay a fee which varies depending on where they are travelling to at the airport (as of June 2012). Ryanair faced criticism over the ambiguous nature of these changes.

New Ryanair aircraft have been delivered with non-reclining seats, no seat-back pockets, safety cards stuck on the back of the seats, and life jackets stowed overhead rather than under the seat. This allows the airline to save on aircraft costs and enables faster cleaning and security checks during the short turnaround times. It was reported on various media platforms that Ryanair wanted to order its aircraft without window shades, but the new aircraft do have them, as it is required by the regulations of the Irish Aviation Authority.

Other proposed measures to reduce frills further have included eliminating two toilets to add six more seats, redesigning the aircraft to allow standing passengers travelling in “vertical seats”, charging passengers for using the toilet, charging extra for overweight passengers, and asking passengers to carry their checked-in luggage to the aircraft. While CEO Michael O’Leary initially claimed that charging passengers for toilets was “going to happen”, he stated days later that it was “technically impossible and legally difficult” but “[made] for interesting and very cheap PR”