Ryanair has announced that it is buying 140 new Boeing 737 aircraft in a deal worth just over €3 billion that will create 2,500 jobs.
An order has been placed for 70 airplanes with an option for 70 more.
Ryanair plans to take delivery of the first 70 planes between 2008 and 2012.
The airline said that half of the new jobs would be at its existing European centres and the rest will be at new bases it plans to develop.
Ryanair added that when the planes had been delivered, it would be carrying 70 million passengers a year, compared with a projected 34 million this year.
