Ryanair celebrates his 40th birthday. This was the first flight of this line

Forty years have passed since the first flight of Ryanair from the Waterford airport to London Gatwick. Such a number may surprise tourists who associated the carrier’s actions on the tourist market primarily in the last two decades. Although the beginnings of the low -budget line from Ireland were not spectacular, today the carrier can boast of a developed fleet and a powerful network of connections. Ryanair entered Poland only in 2005, inaugurating the flight from Wrocław to London Stansted.

Ryanair turns 40 years old

Ryanair is no longer a teenager. The Irish carrier debuted on the market in the eighties, and exactly at 8:30 in the morning on July 8, 1985. The Embraer Bandeirante turboprop aircraft, which housed only 15 people on board, then flew from the Irish airport Waterford to London Gatwick. The line has already had the name Ryanair to this day. “The first cruise from Poland took place almost 20 years later. Exactly on March 24, 2005 from Wrocław, Stansted flew from Wrocław, the first in the history of Lot Ryanair from our country,” reminds the aviation market.

Elder than Wizz Aira

Thus, Ryanair is almost twice older than Wizz Air, who flew from Katowice in the inaugural flight in May 2004. However, the Hungarian carrier immediately began with serious, commercial flights. In the first connection, Wizz Air on board included, among others József Váradi, president of Wizz Air.

Wizz Air followed the road of cheap flights, which Ryanair has previously marked. “The first Ryanair flights were offered at a price of 99 pounds ($ 126) for a return ticket, i.e. less than half of the price offered by Aer Lingus and British Airways,” writes the aviation market. The competition quickly began to lower its rates, but did not stop the power of the new line. “In the first year of activity, Ryanair transported about 82,000 on his only route,” reads. In the early 1990s, the carrier was already serving 15 routes. At that time, passengers could also choose between the first and second class, of which they were finally abandoned.

The next milestone in the development of the line was the launch of online sales in January 2020.