Ryanair's Business Model: A Case Study in Competitive Advantage

Business Essentials: Extended Project – 2018
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Ryanair: Company Background......................................................................................................4
Market Segmentation and Target Markets......................................................................................4
Ryanair’s Pricing Strategy...............................................................................................................5
Ryanair’s supply chain battles with airports....................................................................................6
Ryanair’s constantly evolving marketing strategy..........................................................................8
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
Reference List................................................................................................................................11
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Introduction
In the present market environment, maintaining competitive advantage is one of the most
important business objectives that companies strive to achieve through proper alignment of their
business operations. Since the scope of such an objective is diverse and brings into play various
factors, companies are not restricted to a particular amount of possible operations and activities
that they could undertake. However, businesses also have to keep in mind the aspect of ethics
and control when exercising such duties; not sticking to which could be fatal for the sales growth
of any organization. One of the most affected industries, in terms of maintaining competitive
advantage, is UK’s aviation industry, which has seen more than $ 300 million in acquisitions and
ventures take place in the last ten years.
This study will look into the aviation industry as a whole, with emphasized focus on the various
players within the industry and how they strive to maintain a competitive position in their
market. Although the study will take into consideration various large and small organizations in
the aforementioned industry, it will focus on Ryanair’s business operations and how they help
the company in attracting more consumers that their rivals. Various business functions, such as
pricing, supply chain management as well as marketing will be assessed to help the readers in
understanding the factors necessary to function sustainably in an over-populated market.
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Ryanair: Company Background
Found in 1984 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Ryanair is currently the largest European
Airlines service provider, with respect to the number of passengers flown. The total assets of the
company are over € 11.98 billion, with an operating income of more than € 1.534 billion. The
airlines provide services to over 205 domestic and international destinations, made possible by
its large fleet size. The company operates more than 400 Boeing 737-800s in their total fleet
capacity of over 420. It is one of the major low-cost airlines in Europe with services and
destinations in over 34 international countries (Ryanair.com, 2018).
Michael O'Leary (CEO) and Peter Bellew (COO) are the two most associated names with the
company, making the airlines a present day success based on a low cost business model and still
beating large companies at their very own game. Whilst the company is constantly striving to
strengthen its positions, the activities undertaken by them are both traditional and contemporary.
Figure 1: Ryanair Official Logo
(Source: Ryanair.com, 2018)
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