Europe’s Cheapest Airline, Ryanair
Image Credit: Ryanair
In the summer of 2016, I traveled over 4,000 miles, from Atlanta to Florence, to study abroad for six weeks. During this time, I, of course, hoped to travel to other neighboring countries and explore as much of the world as possible. Yet, I found this to be a bit stressful as I began to discover traveling costs. Traveling within Europe is normally affordable once you find your way into the continent, but after paying for my flight and trip, I was on a tight budget.
Many of the places I wanted to visit required a flight (or endless amounts of connecting train rides) that seemed impossible to bear. All I desired was to see the Eiffel Tower, but as budget constraints and pricey travel methods occurred, I slowly began to think it would never happen. As my roommate and I hurried across a Florence train station to catch a train to Rome, we passed a sign that read Ryanair. Curious, I looked it up on my phone and found the answer to my prayers—a flight to Paris Beauvais for only $41.
Upon discovery, I found that Ryanair is an Ireland-based low-cost airline operating as Europe’s most frequented carrier. A look into the European carrier’s website showed flights to Germany, France, and Sweden all for $17 and flights to the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Norway for a little over $24. With more than 1,600 daily flights out of 74 bases, Ryanair maintains a fleet of over 300 new Boeing 737-800 aircrafts and upholds an industry leading 30-year safety record.
In a matter of 30 years, the airline’s pristine on-time arrival record and exceptional customer service have increased the airline's passenger total from 5,000 in 1985 to now operating at an impressive 79 million in 2015. The airline even offers Ryanair’s Lowest Fare Guarantee, a promise that if a passenger should find a flight to a desired destination on a cheaper fare than the airline will pay double the difference.
Needless to say, Ryanair is the trusty carrier for your European travel plans, and could even possibly be for the United States. Back in March, the Irish airline caused travel anticipation as the company proposed plans for transatlantic flights as low as $15. The announcement soon came to a halt when its board members retracted claims of any such progress.