Ryanair
Irish low-cost airline / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Ryanair?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Ryanair Holdings PLC is an Irish ultra low-cost carrier group headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland.[13] The company includes the subsidiaries Ryanair DACTooltip Designated activity company,[14] Malta Air, Buzz, Lauda Europe and Ryanair UK. Ryanair DAC, the oldest airline of the group, was founded in 1984.[12] Ryanair Holdings was established in 1996 as a holding company for Ryanair with the two companies having the same board of directors and executive officers.[15] In 2019 the transition began from the airline Ryanair and its subsidiaries into separate sister airlines under the holding company.[16] Later in 2019 Malta Air joined Ryanair Holdings.[17]
| |||||||
Founded | 28 November 1984; 39 years ago (1984-11-28)[12] | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commenced operations | 8 July 1985; 38 years ago (1985-07-08) | ||||||
Parent company | Ryanair Holdings PLC | ||||||
Headquarters | Swords, Dublin, Ireland | ||||||
Founders | Christopher Ryan | Tony Ryan | Liam Lonergan |
Ryanair 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. The group operates more than 500 planes.[18] Its route network serves over 40 countries in Europe, North Africa (Morocco), and the Middle East (Israel and Jordan).[19] The primary operational bases are at Dublin, London Stansted and Milan Bergamo airports.[citation needed] Ryanair is Ireland's biggest airline[20] and in 2016 became the world's largest airline by scheduled international passengers.[21]
The company has at times been criticised for its refusal to issue invoices for the VAT-exempt services it provides (airfares),[22] poor working conditions,[23][24][25] heavy use of extra charges,[26][27][28] poor customer service,[29][30] and tendency to intentionally generate controversy in order to gain publicity.[31][32][33]