SWOT and PESTEL Analysis for Ryanair

CASE STUDY

Contents
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
Literature Review......................................................................................................................................3
SWOT and PESTEL Analysis for Ryanair..............................................................................................3
Analysis......................................................................................................................................................6
Main problem faced by Ryanair that requires immediate attention..........................................................6
Recommendations.....................................................................................................................................7
Solution to the identified problem...........................................................................................................7
Experience in writing the report..............................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Ryanair Holdings plc is a budget airline that was founded in the year 1984 and is
headquartered in Dublin. The airline is regarded as the Europe’s largest group and is the parent
company of Malta Air, Buzz, Lauda as well as Ryanair DAC. The airline connects over 200
destinations across 40 countries worldwide (Rothaermel, 2016). The company has a team of
highly skilled aviation professionals including pilots, cabin crew and ground staff. Ryanair was
ranked number one in Europe for its on-time performance ad leading the industry with a safety
record for 34 years (Caridá and Bonizio, 2018). The report describes the SWOT and PESTEL
analysis for the company and also identifies the main problem that it is facing and requires
immediate action along with the reason behind it. The report also proposes a solution to this
problem with the help of two management theories. Lastly, a short report regarding experience in
writing this report is also included.
Literature Review
SWOT and PESTEL Analysis for Ryanair
SWOT Analysis
SWOT is a strategic tool that can be used by both organizations as well as individuals in
order to identify their strengths and weakness. The analysis also provides insight into various
opportunities of growth and expansion as well as various potential threats that can impact the
performance of the company. According to the view point of Noah Parsons, strengths and
weaknesses are internal to the company whereas opportunities and threats are external to it
(What Is a SWOT Analysis, and How to Do It Right (With Examples), 2020). SWOT enables
companies to analyze both positive as well as negative attributes with the help of a single
analysis. It also facilitates a better understanding of how the company has been performing. The
SWOT analysis for Ryanair is explained below –
Strengths – Ryanair is a well-established airline company in European market that
covers nearly 200 destinations across 40 countries and is regarded as the low-cost airline group
nation-wide (Heo, Blal and Choi, 2019). Ryanair is considered as the greenest and cleanest
airline group in Europe wherein if customers choose to fly with the airline, it will reduce the
overall carbon emissions by up to 50% as compared to other airline groups. The company also

maintains an online ticket reservation system through which the customers can manage their
travel without having to rely on a travel agent.
Weaknesses – Apart from being one of the most successful low-cost airlines in the
world, Ryanair still has some weaknesses. The company has been expanding its fleet
aggressively in the last few years which can lead to overcapacity in the coming years. Also, the
airline is frequently associated with poor customer service as well as charging extra costs. The
company does not treat its employees in a very good way and as a result does not have healthy
employee relations.
Opportunities – Besides the uncertainty of Brexit, there are any opportunity that the
company can avail in order to sustain its growth (Phadermrod, Crowder and Wills, 2019).
Ryanair should lay its focus on providing a good experience to its customers by incorporating the
Always Getting Better program. Employees are considered as the face of the company; thus, the
company should take this as an opportunity to train its employees regarding treating the
customers politely and not with an arrogant and rude behavior. This way, the company will be
able to expand its business in different untapped markets.
Threats – The company has been facing a lot of competition from other airlines in the
industry. Also, there is a threat of new entrants offering similar products as that of Ryanair so as
to attract a lot of customers and gain a competitive edge. Other external factors like currency
rates, fuel prices etc. can also pose as threats to the company (SWOT Analysis of Ryanair, 2019).
The company has also been facing threats from the European Union like hidden fees etc.
From the above SWOT analysis, it can be analyzed that Ryanair has various strengths
that have helped in gaining the position that it has today (Blockeel and et. al.,2016). But on the
other hand, the company possesses various weaknesses as well which it can overcome by opting
for effective strategies. The potential threats that can affect its overall performance and position
in the market should be addressed and effective ways to overcome the same should be adopted.
PESTEL Analysis
PESTEL is a framework that is generally used by the marketers of a company to monitor
and analyze the different macro-environmental factors that can impact the organization. The
analysis helps organizations in gaining a competitive advantage over other players in the market.