Case Study: Ryanair's Strategic Challenges and Future Outlook

This case study examines Ryanair's transformation from facing poor customer reviews to achieving a better reputation through its 'Always Getting Better' plan. The analysis focuses on the airline's strategic challenges, including safety and maintenance, the increasingly competitive landscape of the European airline sector, and internal resources. It highlights the fragmentation of the low-cost airline market, the importance of productivity and customer satisfaction, and the impact of various costs. Recommendations include expanding market share, providing consistent service, extending services to Eastern Europe, and capitalizing on the company's first-mover advantage. The study offers a detailed overview of the case, identifies key issues, and suggests actionable steps for Ryanair's future success, emphasizing strategic advantage through efficient resource utilization and market penetration.

Transcript
Overview of the case:
Primarily the author focuses on how the company was faced with lousy customer reviews and
decided to turn its reputation from worst to best. Furthermore, the author then goes through
the changes they had made during ‘always getting better’ plan in 2014. Then The case centres
on examining the landscape of the airline sector, Ryanair’s internal resources or capabilities,
and the sustainable competitive advantage principle. This case shows that a strategy founded
on the efficient use of assets, resources, or skills provides a lasting strategic benefit while
adding perceived value to our customers. The case also reveals the challenges and barriers
that hinder the attainment and maintenance of this gain under evolving circumstances. In the
end, the author explained how the organization is trying to deal with all these current issues.
Furthermore, moving Ryanair towards a successful future.
Key Issues arising from the case
Safety and maintenance
Any safety issue or harmful incident will put a collateral effect on the whole business. So the
organization has to be careful about it.
Competitive Space
Ryanair may be the first business in Europe to provide low-cost airlines. But, since their
success, there are other corporations throughout Europe is looking to tap the market of low
cost paying customers. So at this moment, the industry across Europe is fragmented. That is a
big issue for Ryanair because their most successful business policy is now everyone’s
successful business policy.
Various Risks and challenges
Since the industry across Europe is fragmented and the industry environment is changing
more than ever. Ryanair is facing multiple new kinds of problems, for which they were not

prepared. Furthermore, the organization has already indulged in a considerable change
starting from 2013. So, this changing environment the company is experiencing in the
industry is going to put up quite a challenge for the organization.
Productivity and Service
The productivity of the staff and satisfaction of the client has always been a challenge for
almost every type of businesses. By 2015, Ryanair had more than nine thousand employees
working for them. So maintaining productivity across the whole workforce will surely be an
issue that Ryanair cannot overlook.
Similarly, no organization can please all their client. Especially organizations like Ryanair
who have various ancillary chargeable services that the clients want to avail but hate to pay
for it. Furthermore, not being loved by the client had always been a massive issue for
Ryanair. Their ‘Always Getting Better’ plan concerns this only.
Various types of Costs
All the airlines have to provide multiple types of costs like airport cost, operational cost etc.
As these costs are ever-growing. Ryanair may face issues with amounts of charge considering
the other endeavours like changing policies, hiring a massive number of employees, putting
up a subtle marketing and PR branch.
Recommendations on how the organization could proceed
Below provided are a few steps that the organization can follow to avoid the issues that they
are facing currently.
Primarily as Ryanair is growing their fleet size workforce, etc., they should try to acquire a
massive market share among low-cost carriers. Specialists believe growing the company’s
stock will meet up with the market demand perfectly.

Furthermore, they can provide uninterrupted service throughout the year, even in the winter
months. The company has already insured against the market volatility. This way, they can
take also take extra measures.
The organization should also extend its service to Eastern Europe. A significant part of the
strategic advantage of Ryanair is its early penetration into uncompromising space. As the first
mover, Ryanair handles airports favourably, controls airports that later would become more
competitive, and gains more significant customer market shares for point-to-point roads. It is
desirable to extend into Hungary where Ryanair is not operated at the moment and to
continue to Lithuania, Latvia and the Czech Republic, where Ryanair is running at and from
one airport only.