Ryanair is an airline based in Ireland. It is Europe's largest low-cost carrier, operating 209 low-fare routes to 94 destinations across 17 European countries. Over the years it has evolved into the world's most profitable airline, running at remarkable margins by relentlessly driving costs down. Ryanair has been characterised by rapid and continuing expansion, enabled by the deregulation of the air industry in Europe in 1997. It operates a fleet of 74 Boeing 737s, and currently has firm orders for an additional 225 Boeing 737-800 airplanes by 2010, with options on a further 193. Ryanair is one of Europe's most controversial companies, praised and criticised in equal measure. Its supporters praise its commitment to exceptionally low fares, its radical management, its populism, and its willingness to challenge what Ryanair calls the 'establishment' within the airline industry. Critics, meanwhile, have attacked its labor union policies, and have charged that it practises deceptive advertising.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1919: Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata was shot dead. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emiliano_Zapata)

1941: The Axis Powers established the Independent State of Croatia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_State_of_Croatia)

1959: Akihito, future Emperor of Japan, weds Michiko. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihito)

1963: The submarine USS Thresher was lost at sea, with all hands. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Thresher_%28SSN-593%29)

1998: The Belfast Agreement was signed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belfast_Agreement)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"The love of liberty is the love of others; the love of power is the love of ourselves." -- William Hazlitt (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Hazlitt)