Vital Statistics: It is the world's largest airline in terms of international passenger numbers and the largest budget airline in Europe. It flies about 1,100 routes with a fleet of 264 aircraft.
Hub Airports: Ryanair has primary bases in Dublin and London but serves 161 destinations from 44 "base airports." View an interactive Ryanair route map
Frequent-flier program: None. A brief experiment with such a program was discontinued in 1989.
Other Distinguishing features: Ryanair continues to expand its offerings, growing by 10 percent in 2010 according to a company news release. Faced with mounting financial problems in the early 1990s, the airline adopted a no-frills, low-cost approach. Price-slashing along routes where government-subsidized airlines were charging far higher fares proved to be an effective tactic. Ryanair sometimes draws criticism for aggressive marketing tactics that single out competitors for direct fare comparisons. Ryanair charges fees for routine needs such as printing a boarding pass, but claims its average fare is €32 ($44 USD).
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