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After very difficult beginnings, the Irish airline company Ryanair has shown solid financial health since 1997, the year when deregulation was completed in Europe. In 2003, Ryanair transported 23 million passengers. In 2004, it became the third largest airline company in Europe (and Europe''s largest low cost) with net margins of 20% and a cash hoard of 1.2 billion euros. Nevertheless, the company issued its first ever profit warning at the beginning of January citing lower profits after tax, a decrease in the average fare and lower load factors. The case traces the development of Ryanair from its founding and asks readers to consider: (1) Ryanair''s adaptation of the low cost model pioneered by Southwest Airlines, the most profitable airline in the US; and (2) the likelihood that the company can achieve the objective declared by Michael O''Leary (Ryanair''s CEO) to become the largest scheduled carrier in Europe.