How Ryanair Makes Money From a €10 Seat

Ryanair sells seats for less than the taxi to the airport, and still made €2.26 billion in profit last year. Divide that by every passenger and Ryanair keeps about €11 per person, roughly the price of its cheapest seat. So the ticket can't be where the money is. This is the story of the machine behind the €10 seat: a trip to Texas, 25-minute turnarounds, airports that pay to be chosen, the "second ticket" you buy after the first, and the day it all went too far. Plus: how to fly cheap anyway. Chapters 0:00 The €10 seat 0:43 The visit to Texas 1:32 The machine 3:14 The full plane 3:53 The second ticket 5:02 The trick on your brain 6:11 The biggest in Europe 6:45 The day it went too far 7:44 The free flight 8:28 How to fly cheap anyway 9:23 Next week Sources FY26 (year to 31 Mar 2026): profit after tax €2.26 bn (pre-exceptional), revenue €15.54 bn, 208.4 m passengers, average fare €50.60, ancillary revenue €24 per passenger, load factor 94%: Ryanair FY26 results (May 2026); Travel Extra; Centre for Aviation Profit per passenger ≈ €10.85 and ancillaries ≈ €5.0 bn: our calculation from the figures above Founding 1985, first route Waterford to London Gatwick: company history; encyclopedia.com Southwest model, one aircraft type, quick turnarounds: company histories; Robins case (University of Richmond, 2025); ICMR case Secondary airports and low airport fees: ICMR case; Harvard RCTOM 2002 order for 100 Boeing 737-800s at reported 30–50% discounts: Ryanair RNS (Aug 2002); HeraldNet (Jan 2002); analyst estimates Fees (airport check-in up to €55, bags, seats): press reports 2025 (WSIU/NPR, Connexion) 2013 profit warnings, "Always Getting Better", O'Leary quote: City AM; The Telegraph via Newstalk 2016 "free flights" remark: Airport Operators Association speech, via AirlineRatings and Grazia Estimates are labelled as such. This channel is not affiliated with Ryanair or any airline. Not financial advice. About this video: the narration voice, the music and the hand-painted animation are made with AI tools (open-source models). Mia is a fictional character. Real people are shown only as silhouettes, never as likenesses. The script and research are checked by hand against the sources above. The Money Behind: the hidden business models behind the brands you use every day. #Ryanair #Airlines #BusinessStory