O'Leary returned from a visit to U. S. Southwest Airlines convinced that Ryanair could make huge inroads into the European air market, at that time dominated by national carriers, which were subsidised to various degrees by their parent countries.
O'Leary kembali dari kunjungan ke Southwest Airlines yakin bahwa Ryanair bisa membuat terobosan besar ke pasar udara Eropa, pada waktu itu didominasi oleh operator nasional, yang disubsidi berbagai tingkatan oleh negara induknya.