When we mention Ryanair on this site, it’s usually because the Irish discount carrier has come up with yet another misery-inducing way to save money, like charging for restrooms, selling standing-room tickets, and asking crew members to lose some weight to save on fuel. The airline’s latest venture is a spacious corporate-style jet with leather seats and fancy food. Wait, what?

The airline doesn’t come up much here when they aren’t committing outrageous acts of penny-pinching, but apparently they’re working to get rid of that reputation and become an airline that people actually want to fly. It’s working: their total ridership went above 100 million passengers last year.

The fancy plane is a Boeing 737-700, which is a little smaller than the airliners into which they would normally stuff 189 people. Instead of using the custom jet to train crew members, the airline outfitted it with only 60 reclining leather seats. Their target market is charter flights, and they plan to rent the jet and its crew out on an hourly basis. Ryanair does get some charter business, and would like to start hauling around corporate groups, sports teams, and groups of travelers.

Plush Leather Seats and Fine Dining: Ryanair Revamp Goes Extreme [Bloomberg]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.