Ryanair operates a low-fares scheduled passenger airline serving short-haul, point-to-point routes between Ireland, the UK, Continental Europe, and Morocco. The company offers more than 1,300 scheduled short-haul flights per day serving 155 locations. This case study looks at how Ryanair has risen to become the world’s most popular airline for international travel.

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Highlights

Ryanair has redefined the airline industry with its low-cost operating model. In order to keep costs to a minimum the airline uses small, regional airports and operates as a point-to-point carrier, thus avoiding the costs associated with a hub-and-spoke service.

The company’s adoption of a low-cost operating model allows it to pursue a price-led offering. Ryanair advertises itself as “The low fares airline” and has a price promise under which it will pay double the difference if a customer finds the same flight cheaper elsewhere. The tradeoff for the low fares is a so-called “no-frills” service.
Although the company receives a great deal of negative publicity, this is not entirely warranted and Ryanair in fact tops several rankings that measure customer satisfaction. These include rankings for punctuality, environmental friendliness, lost bags, and the number of complaints received.

Your key questions answered

* How has Ryanair redefined the passenger airline industry?
* How has Ryanair grown to become the world”s most popular passenger airline for international travel?
* How does Ryanair maintain a low operating cost base?

Ryanair Leading Low-Cost Airline Company

Published: March 2012                                       No. of Pages: 21                     

 Price: Single User: US $ 400                             Corporate User: US $ 1000

Table of Contents

Overview

Catalyst

Summary

Analysis

Conclusions

Appendix