One of the first things a visitor to Ryanair’s Dublin headquarters sees in the entry foyer is a framed model of one of the Boeing 737-800 jets that have long been the only type of aircraft in the low-cost airline’s fleet.

A plaque beneath says the model was a gift from Alan Mulally, former head of Boeing’s commercial airplanes division, to Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary for the purpose of “celebrating the Boeing and Ryanair partnership” in 2002.