Ryanair: How a Small Irish Airline Conquered Europe

by Siobhan Creaton

The supercharged growth of this low-cost airline has actually changed the way countless people live their lives, whether it be Ireland's new "Ryanair Generation," for whom its cheap flights to Dublin have eliminated much permanent emigration to the UK, or the thousands of Britons now enabled to buy holiday homes in rural France. This is the first book to tell the full story of the Ryanair phenomenon, from its inauspicious beginnings to its current dominance, from the secret of its business strategy to its cavalier stunts and practices. Siobhan Creaton has spoken to Ryanair employees past and present, as well as its top management and those at its major rivals like British Airways and easyJet, to produce an authoritative, objective, and compulsive account of one of the most colorful companies in Europe.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 5, 2004

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cannot believe the library decommissioned such a gem - absolutely captivated by this. Extremely detailed and well written. I've picked up several O'Leary quotes I use frequently at work now, much to the amusement of my team 😆

[Vijay Chengappa · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a happy user of RyanAir (and a fan of their in your face, and often overt strategies) this was an extremely fun read.
Despite all the noise around their service, the sales/revenue figures are proof that people often vote with their feet.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rare business book that read like a novel, and aptly demonstrated how much of a one-off this business is. It also highlighted what leadership can bring to an organisation - that's leadership in general, not necessarily "good" or "right" or (in O'Leary's case) "enlightened and inspiring" leadership, just an intense belief that your direction is the right one and you're either going with it or not. It was certainly food for thought, but entertaining with it.

[Nelig Group · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has got to be one of the best business books I have read! I am particularly intrigued by Ryanair's innovative business model. Importantly, this book has reminded me to always keep my operational costs down. There's a tendency to want to improve your life/business as the profits start to stream in but it's more important to save for a rainy day or to reinvest. There's also plenty to learn from Herb Kelleher!

[Arvind · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating! Reads more like a novel than a business story. Those looking for a business perspective/lessons will find little to recommend in this book, but aviation enthusiasts with a desire for a good story and colourful characters should love this.

[Ralph Cunningham]

Exciting account of how Ryanair grew through tough times, led by the inimitable CEO Michael O'Leary.

[Wojtek Babisz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book-superbly written.

Loads of incisive information.

About Ryanair? Well I had the opportunity to work for them. One more book could be written about industrial relations.

Another about Ryanair Stories from Passenger side.

I would gladly read the follow up story for years 2010-20.

The Aer Lingus Merger didnt happen, neither did Transatlantic Flights (with „blowjobs in Premier Class”).

However at some stage the Airline started to push on safety (cpt John Goss interview to BBC) and introducing its
„Always Getting Program”.

One more thing should be mentioned: staff being charged for joining the Airline - „Cost of Training”.

For Cabin crew- they would break your soul and health. Unless you become one of Them.

Great overally book. Worthwhile reading

[Simon Semelin · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Bra skildring över hur Tony Ryan startade bolaget genom leasing av flygplan men hur sedan oleary har fortsatt framgången och skapat världens? största flygbolag. Han vågar hela tiden utmana omvärlden och lever efter devisen all publicitet är bra.
En man som revolutionerat en bransch där SAS fortfarande står och stampar.
"

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, and not that many surprises in how Ryanair became what it is. This book covers until around 2008, and they seem to keep going strong. Also, I have not flown with them for over a decade, and am not looking forward to new Ryanair flights.
O’Leary certainly seems like a character, and not a very nice one either

[Noah Kagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

has some parts where it shows 1 customer had a bad experience. but loved learning the story how they got to where they are and how they stood for something. not everyone loved it but at least they are honest with themselves.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read.
Shame how Ryan & O’Leary became wealthy while underpaying the Ryanair workers-especially the baggage handlers.

[Mathieu Leboeuf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed diving into the development of this airline from the beginning to the mid 2000's and how they passed through several crisis. I recommend it to every aviation enthusiast!

[Katiuscia Marques · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tem alguns pontos interessantes, mas desisti de ler antes da metade porque era muito em torno do ego gigantesco do Michael O'Leary.

[Budd Margolis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Foul mouthed genius makes cheap look like a luxury term!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, ignore my 3 stars, I actually really liked this book! for a book that I picked up for all of one dollar at a book sale from the business section (I hate business books) (or I thought I did), it was actually pretty entertaining. yes, it started to lose me when discussing profit margins and floatations (I still don't really quite get what was going on, but the gist was there), but when it was discussing the drama behind the scenes, boy was that a page-turner.
I think I liked this book because, at heart, I love to gossip. and this book felt like I was listening to a friend gossip for a few hours straight about some rich people and their office drama.
although, the one thing I did dislike was that sometimes it felt quite repetitive, and some piece of information that was mentioned three chapters ago would suddenly be reintroduced as if it were new material. Ah well, maybe that wouldn't have bothered me so much if I had read it over a couple of weeks or days, instead of all in one sitting.
3.5 stars

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

At times, this book reads a little bit like Leviticus. However, it is a fascinating tale about the airline's rise to prominence in Europe. Of particular note were the descriptions of it's current CEO, O'Leary, whose in and out of the board room antics are certainly approaching legend status.
If you've ever taken a Ryanair flight, or if you've a penchant for innovative business models, then this one's for you.

[Niels Lodewijk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Company I'd never want to work for, but very relevant to air transport industry. Read it in Ireland where Ryanair and it's founder and CEO are infamous.