Low cost? Not particularly, in my experience. Their fares appear to be moving towards those of their competitors. No frills? If you diminish the strengths of the brand, you are no longer brand leader.
Ryanair is a ULCC [Ultra Low Cost Carrier]. They are as low-cost as it gets in this industry. But in the airline industry the term 'low cost' refers to the cost-base of the company,
not the fares charged to customers. Fare tariffs are determined by yield management software to maximise profit. This is not a change at Ryanair ... this is a science in which they have excelled for many years.
And Ryanair is not 'diminishing the strengths of the brand'. Quite the contrary. They are in the process of eliminating the most disliked features of the brand. And the dividends of that policy are already shining through in financial results.
Your disappointment at Ryanair's apparent decision to remove a based unit from LPL is understandable. But don't let that cloud your judgment regarding management competence at the company. They know their market niche and are 'best in class' at what they do.
As an aside, I plan to do another comparative analysis of Ryanair's respective programmes from MAN, LPL, LBA, EMA & BHX in about one month from now. I'm waiting for the Summer 2016 programme to settle down before undertaking this.