How do low cost airlines, example being Ryanair, make such high profits yet sell flights for so cheap?

Question

I fly around Europe for €30-€100 per return flight without a checked bag. Yet Ryanair are one of the most profitable airlines in the world yet charging such cheap prices. Are other airlines just not as efficient as low cost airlines?

In: Economics

Answer 1

Their base product is very small. They charge you for everything. Don’t print your ticket? $. Want to have a snack? $. Then they use the thinnest seats in the planes which allows them to cram in many more people.

So high volume, low revenue per person, but volume makes up for it.

I was gonna make a car comparison, but that doesn’t hold up. A Honda Civic has more default options than my twice as expensive BMW.