Ryanair Airlines' low fares concept was conceived by three Irish businessmen in 1984 who wanted to break the major airline duopoly between Ireland and England. The strategy was simple in nature; offer lower prices than any competitor on the same route. Ryanair began operations in 1985 with a single 15-seat turboprop aircraft flying between Waterford, Ireland and London, England. The price was only €99 ($138), less than 50% of the two competitors at the time. Ryanair carried 5,000 passengers in its first year. In 2012, the airline carried more than 79 million passengers. Ryanair has demonstrated consistent growth and profits with the exception of 1991 and 2001 (Ryanair, 2013). Ryanair was founded with the aim of breaking the airline duopoly held at the time by British Airways and Aer Lingus (Ryanair, 2013). There is no doubt that the objective has been achieved and continues to evolve. However, a new competitor has entered the market and threatens their motto “the lowest fare in the world”. EasyJet, founded in 1995 (Spotlight Falls on, 2013), has become another low-cost carrier (Wensveen, 2011) and maintains fierce competition as it attempts to surpass Ryanair's customer service by offering 'fast boarding'. , more flexible fares and guaranteed seats. and better catering service (Low cost Airlines, 2013). In my opinion, the marketing strategy used by Ryanair works very well. In 2012, an increase of more than 13% in profits was announced by the airline (Ryanair, 2013). Ryanair is Europe's leading low-cost airline and continues to grow in number of passengers, routes and aircraft. A thorough study of how Ryanair uses the four Ps of product, price, promotion and place (Wensveen, 2011) will result in a b...... middle of paper ...... the business was opened in January 2000. Since then, virtually all ticket offices have been closed and the Internet accounts for the majority of ticket sales. Ticket purchases made by any means other than the website incur additional fees to cover costs (Ryanair, 2013). Works Cited Wensveen, JG (2011). Air transport. (7th edition). Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company. Ryanair. (nd). About Us. (nd). Retrieved from http://www.ryanair.comMSN Money (November 16, 2013). The spotlight turns to easyJet's profits. Retrieved from http://money.uk.msn.com/news/spotlight-falls-on-easyjet-profitsThomas, N. (November 16, 2013). Low-cost airlines have come a long way. But who will win the battle? Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/10454522/Low-cost-airlines-have-come-a-long-way.-But-who-will-win-the-battle .html