Ryanair

Ryanair made low-fare short-haul flying feel stripped down on purpose: no frills, tight seat pitch, extra charges for add-ons, and a network built around point-to-point routes rather than a polished experience. By our assessment, that trade-off is exactly why it is still so visible in Europe: it is good at getting price-sensitive passengers between secondary and big airports with a no-nonsense timetable. The downside is obvious in use, because baggage rules, seat selection and every small extra can turn the base fare into something less tidy. It sits below the full-service legacy carriers on comfort and usually below easyJet on the soft edges of the experience, but it is also one of the clearest examples of the low-cost model. The Irish base matters less than the operating style: fast turns, dense cabin layouts, and a deliberate lack of fuss. It is for people who care more about the route and the fare than the cabin, and it is not for anyone expecting extras to come bundled in.