OBITUARY: Tony Ryan: Irish entrepreneur who revolutionized air travel

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Dr Tony Ryan, the Irish entrepreneur and founder of low-cost airline Ryanair, who has died aged 71, was hailed Thursday for revolutionizing air travel by pioneering the European low-cost airline industry.

A statement from his family said Ryan passed away at his home in Celbridge, County Kildare, after a long illness Wednesday afternoon.

"We are proud of Tony's many achievements, of his spirit of entrepreneurship which created enterprise and opportunity for many people in this country and abroad," a statement from his family said.

Ryan, the son of a train driver, was born on February 2, 1936, in Thurles, County Tipperary, where he started his first job in a sugar factory after leaving school.

He worked as a baggage handler for former state airline Aer Lingus in the 1950s before setting up his own leasing company, Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA), with one aircraft, in 1975.

Over the next 15 years, GPA grew to become the largest aircraft leasing company in the world with assets under management of 7.5 billion dollars, according to the London Times Thursday.

The company collapsed after a botched flotation attempt in 1992, and was eventually acquired by finance firm GE Capital.

Ryanair, which he co-founded in 1985, was initially an equally daunting challenge, starting with one small aircraft flying to Britain from Waterford in Ireland's south-east.

Under chief executive Michael O'Leary, hired by Ryan as his right-hand man, the no-frills airline has grown to be the biggest in Europe, carrying 50 million passengers a year with a pre-tax profit of 401 million euros (542 million dollars) in the last financial year.

O'Leary described Ryan as "one of the greatest Irishmen of the 20th century" who would leave an "astonishing legacy."

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said Ryan's contribution to the "development of aviation in Ireland and indeed globally was immense."

"The establishment of Ryanair and its subsequent rise to become one of the leading carriers in Europe is one of the greatest Irish success stories and will be rightly regarded as perhaps his greatest legacy."

"He possessed an extraordinary vision. Whether it was airline investment in Asia, vineyards in Europe or bloodstock in the US, he brought a tremendous sense of style, charm and good humour to all of his business and personal relationships," Ryanair chairman David Bonderman said about Ryan.

The airline's rocketing success since its stock market flotation in 1997, and the revolution in cheap air travel, enabled Ryan to invest in airline ventures in China and Latin America.

However, there was "nothing no-frills" about Ryan's own lifestyle, as the Financial Times pointed out Thursday.

Ryan owned properties across the globe, art collections and racehorse studs and became one of Ireland's biggest philanthropists and supporters of the arts.

He had amassed a considerable fortune, estimated at 1.2 billion euros, and lived partly in Monaco in tax exile.

Last year, he provided 10 million euros for a business school in Dublin named after him.

"His legacy is clearly evident today as Ireland remains one of the key global centres for the international aircraft-leasing business," Ahern said. dpa at wjh