Ryanair's Success and Sustainability

Running head: SERVICES MARKETING
SERVICES MARKETING
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1. Why has Ryanair been successful thus far?
The success of Ryanair airlines has been dedicated to its brand value that has been
personified by Michael O’Leary, the CEO of the company. According to him, Ryanair is a
brand that sends a very clear message t the customers and includes price-cutting proposals
and outrageous comments. In addition to this, the factors such as lesser fares, fewer
cancellations, a smaller number of lost bags and good on-time records have also contributed
to the success of this company. Ryanair has been ranked as the largest global airline company
in the year 2010 based on the number of passengers by International Air Transport
Association. The company earned huge profits in spite of recessions and was successful in
delivering an increase of 200% in traffic growth. The core faith of Ryanair is providing lower
unit costs for the travelers but with a dignified flight experience. They have adopted various
methods to do so, such as increasing the ancillary revenue from the extra fees for services
including check-in luggage, reserved seats, excess baggage, in-flight food etc. which will in
turn increase the sales. By using the Boeing 737 airplanes, Ryanair has continued the fleet
policy of commonality in order to keep down the costs of aircraft maintenance and employee
training, as less as possible. The company also continued to purchase the new and
environment friendly flights which helped them to reduce the fuel consumption by forty-five
percent, emissions by fifty percent as well as per seat noise production by forty percent too.
Likewise, they offer internet services for avoiding the agency fees and depend on
controversial slogans and stunts for publicity. By keeping their promises and delivering them,
Ryanair is successful in maintaining the positive brand experience. Sometimes the functional
quality is lacking in cases like lack in responsiveness, assurance and reliability. Despite all
these drawbacks, the technical quality along with the entire perceived quality of service leads
to customer satisfaction. Another important factor that led to the success of Ryanair is the
vast diversity of its staff which consists of people coming from more than twenty-five
different nations. The total count of workers which was 7,032 people has also doubled in the
last few years. They are also entitled to receive incentive payments based on productivity.

Moreover, in order to maintain a budget model of airlines, the main congested airports are
avoided and are replaced by regional and secondary destinations. They assure that 95%
flights must follow the schedule and hence it’s a big advantage for travelers those who utilize
airlines for utility or leisure. Ryanair also possess an excellent safety record having the most
trained cabin crew. In their 32 years of service, not a single fatal accident has been reported
(Barrett 2016).
2. Is Ryanair's strategy sustainable?
The strategy that Ryanair follows to make a profit is by providing a reliable and basic
less fare service. It turns out be one of the obsessive price reduction strategies that focus on
efficiency and growth. The company has gained an advantage over its rival companies by
offering low cost fares for the customers in a more efficient way. Among all the other budget
airlines, Ryanair has become the cost leader while operating in 33 countries from over two
thousand airports, over 1800 routes penetrating even in small regions with a fleet of more
than 400 Boeing 737-800 airplanes. It holds a strong position among the budget airlines of
Europe and is well established. It also ranks as one of the greenest and youngest fleets in
entire Europe as it purchases new and eco-friendly aircrafts. By doing so they can reinvest the
profit back into their business (Nortilli and Wong 2014) When the whole world is suffering
from recession, Ryanair remains a strong rival in the UK market as they possess a growing
market share as the fares are decreasing perpetually. This is because they are linked to a low-
cost model throughout all the aspects of the business that refers to lesser costs for each
passenger. The company turns out to be the pioneer in innovative initiatives for ancillary
revenues and continues to find out several ways to add charges to the services already entitled
with the price of the ticket. It also customizes rosters in order to assure flexible and
productive labor force. The CEO of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, has brilliantly minimized the
costs of marketing with the help of controversial stunts that offer free publicity of the
company. When the internet-based reservation systems for buying a ticket were introduced,