It is difficult to imagine now just what air travel was like for the people of this island before the emergence of Ryanair. The cost of flying between Ireland and Britain was such that many people kept travel to a minimum or opted instead for the ferry to Holyhead or Liverpool and the onward, often lengthy, rail journey. Expeditions such as these were frequently ordeals to be suffered.
Consider the situation today. Thousands of people think very little of hopping on a Ryanair flight to a variety of UK destinations, though mainly London Stansted. From there, passengers may travel on to a further 38 points across continental Europe. From Dublin alone, passengers can fly direct to 16 destinations. Booking tickets on the internet is a task which many travellers now conduct with as much thought (and bother) as buying a cup of coffee.
The company now boasts that it is Europe's largest low fares airline, operating 76 routes to 13 countries throughout the continent. This year alone it is projecting that it will carry some 15 million passengers, operating a fleet of 44 Boeing 737s. All this from an airline that began operations in 1985 with a daily flight (a 15-seat turbo prop) from Waterford to Gatwick, and a staff of 57.
This extraordinary success story was underlined yesterday when the company reported after-tax profits of €151 million for the first six months of this year, reflecting a 37 per cent surge in passenger numbers. Not surprisingly, Ryanair shares leapt 14 per cent, the market appreciating the company's continued success.
Ryanair is not without its critics: a swashbuckling approach to day-to-day business comes across to some as cavalier indifference to customer relations. However Ryanair's chief executive, Mr Michael O'Leary, is not a man to lose much sleep fretting about his, or his company's occasionally frayed public image. He has preferred to concentrate instead on the airline's core appeal: cheap, no frills travel. And whatever the commentators say, the travelling public has voted - and continues to vote - with its feet.
In years to come, social historians will acknowledge Ryanair's role in changing Irish people's travel habits - not to mention the competitive challenges it has presented to the industry as a whole. Fortunately there are now signs that Aer Lingus is responding successfully to this challenge, indicating a strong outlook for the Republic's airline industry.