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 regresou dunha visita a Southwest Airlines convencido de que Ryanair podería realizar grandes incursións no mercado europeo, nese tempo dominado polas aeroliñas nacionais que eran subvencionadas en distintos graos polos seus países.