...Case Study: easyJet and Ryanair Flying High with Low Prices Toifl Edith, Maike Klement Hamiyet Karaman, Tsolmonzul Erevgiylkham FK ABWL Marketing 040177/1 WS 06/07 Story - easyJet Founded in March 1995 by Stelios HajiIoannou - the family remains the major shareholder The airline is based at easyLand, at Luton airport 2 Concept - easyJet Reduction of costs through: - reduction of distribution costs No free lunch Efficient use of airports (fast turnaround terms - 30 min)) - Operations out of secondary airports main target group: business travelers 3 Story - Ryanair 1985 founded by the Ryan Family (with a share capital of only £ 1 Million) First route from Waterford in Ireland to London Gatwick 4 Concept - Ryanair Cheap point-to-point flights from secondary airport Single aircraft policy Fast turnarounds Main target group: leisure customers 5 1. How do easyJet and Ryanair achieve success using low-price strategies? 1. How do easyJet and Ryanair achieve success using low-price strategies? A new system allows airline seats to be priced according to supply and demand and achieve high occupancy. - how does it work? They start with low ticket prices, and raise it according to demand. Stelios from easyJet calls this system „yield management“ 7 1. How do easyJet and Ryanair achieve success using low-price strategies? Examples: Ryanair: Linz Stansted flight: 08.12.06 € 59.99 flight: 08.04.07 € 39.99 easyJet: Munich Stansted...
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...Case study A : Ryanair Part 1 In November of 2006, the Irish Airline company Ryanair announced a record half-year profit of 326 million euros. In order to understand how they managed to reach such profitability in the overloaded European Airline industry, we will use the business model framework. First, Ryanair’s customers benefit from low fares and punctuality. Offering the lowest fares in every market is the company main goal. As no competitors manage to outperform Ryanair in terms of price, we can say that their value proposition is superior. The second step of the business model framework is to emphasize the architecture of the business and how it enables the company to achieve its aims. Let’s focus on each of the six components of the company infrastructure. ✓ Ryanair aims at offering the lowest prices of the market. Low fares are the main competitive advantage of the company, so whatever the context is they try not to raise prices. Even when fuel costs soared, the company CEO, Michael O’Leary declared that they would be “no fuel surcharges not today, not tomorrow, not ever”. ✓ Ryanair’s flights are point to point only, in order to reduce costs (fuel charges, airport cost…). On those flights, there is no business class. Moreover, the company chose secondary airports as airport charges are lower than in main airports. We can Ryanair also offers ancillary services including non-flight services such as hotels or car rental...
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...Ryanair – The low fares airline: Whither now? Main Problems Ryanair’s growth rate is affected by macroeconomic factors such as the recession, as seen in 2010 when Ryanair saw a 200% increase in profit and traffic growth, as the low fares became attractive for those suffering from the current climate. Uncertainty still remains regarding the economic climate; problems would arise if it continued, as passengers would reduce spending restricting the company’s passenger volume growth. If the economic climate was to grow, business and leisure passengers may choose to pay more and travel with a full service airline, this could consequently result in demand for low-cost flights to drop. One of the greatest concerns is fuel prices the ability to estimate future costs are limited due to unforeseen natural disasters and conflicts. Rising oil prices have had an impact on Ryanair, in 2008 Ryanair’s profit before tax was £439 million which fell down to £181 million the following year due to an increase in fuel costs by £100 million. As Ryanair’s declaration of ‘no fuel surcharge ever’, and its reliance on low fares limit its capacity to pass on increased fuel prices will inevitable result in low profits or ticket prices will have to rise. Ryanair faces stiff competition in Europe from a number of airlines including, BritishAirways, WizzAir, SkyEurope and EasyJet. In this competitive market airlines will need to adopt new strategies to avoid losing market share. Rivalry among existing...
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...underlying the concept of generic strategies is that competitive advantage is at the heart of any strategy, and achieving competitive advantage requires a firm to make a choice, if a firm is to attain competitive advantage, it must make a choice about the type of competitive advantage it seeks to attain and the scope within which it will attain it (Porter, 2004). The purpose of this report is to assess the key strategies chosen by Ryanair within cost leadership and that were likely to generate competitive advantages to the organisation. Furthermore, this paper will analyse the Ryanair’s decision to become a low cost airline through Porter’s five forces. It will help to understand the industry attractiveness and competitive forces. PEST analyses will be directed in order to analyse the business environment where Ryanair operates. SWOT analyses will be piloted to diagnose the strategic capabilities of Ryanair. Porter’s five forces will explain the strategic choice made by Ryanair. VRIO frame work deeply diagnoses the strategic capabilities of Ryanair, it evaluates and explains the reasons of choosing cost leadership and become a low cost airline. VRIO will evaluate...
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...Executive Summary Ryanair operates as a cost leader in the European low cost carrier segment of the airline industry. As a cost leader they aim to achieve high volume sales by attracting customers with low prices. As a result of charging some of the lowest prices in the industry, Ryanair has seen growth in traffic and reported record revenues. To remain profitable the company focuses on maintaining low costs and efficient operations. The key issues facing Ryanair include how to remain profitable in light of rising fuel prices and currency exchange risk, the ability to maintain market share and growth in a segment characterized by intense competition, and whether or not it would be profitable to expand into the growing international/emerging markets and internet retailing space. In addressing these key issues, it is recommended that Costco focuses on opportunities in the internet retailing space to grow bottom and top line growth as well as increasing market share. It is also recommended that they remain committed to their low cost high inventory turnover strategy in order to continue to offer consumers the lowest prices and achieve high inventory turnover. By taking these initiating the strategies summarized above, Costco will be able to maintain their position as market leader and continue to operate profitably in the discount membership warehouse segment of the retail industry. Business Model & Strategy Ryanair operates as a cost leader in the low cost...
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...Table of Content RYANAIR THE COMPANY 3 Section A 4 Slow Growth 4 The impact of slow growth on the industry 4 Taxation 4 ECONOMIC FACTORS 5 Unemployment 5 GNP trends 5 Inflation 5 Exchange rates 5 Interest rates 6 Security Factors 6 The Threat of close substitutes and rivals 7 HIGH FIXED COSTS; 7 AIRPORTS 7 PORTER’S FIVE FORCES 9 Threat of new entrants 9 Suppliers: 9 Buyers: 9 Substitutes: 9 Competitive rivalry: 9 Section B 10 Firm Infrastructure 10 Human Resource Management 10 Technology Development 11 Procurement 12 Inbound logistics 12 Operations 12 Outbound logistics 13 Marketing and Sales 13 Service 13 Margin 14 Joint Venture 14 SECTION C 15 Ryanair Business Strategy 15 Low Fares: 15 Customer service: 15 Frequent Point-to-Point Flights on Short-Haul Routes: 15 Low Operating Costs: 15 Taking Advantage of the Internet: 16 Commitment to Safety and Quality Maintenance: 16 Enhancement of Operating Results through Ancillary Services: 16 Analysis of the airline business models 16 Ryanair’s strategy in future: 17 Focused Criteria for Growth: 17 New Aircraft-markers: 18 New design ‘standing seats’ 18 SWOT Analysis 19 Strengths 19 Weakness 19 Opportunities 19 Threats 19 BIBLIOGRAPHY 20 RYANAIR THE COMPANY The company was incorporated in 1995 and became Ryanair limited, and in 1996 it changed to a holding company for Ryanair limited. Registered...
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...Low cost airlines Definition of low cost airlines Ryanair is a low cost carrier, well-known in Europe which started in 1991 as a ‘no-frills’ service airline between Ireland and the UK. By 1995, Ryanair spread to more European countries. Nine years later it carried 20 million passengers and 10 years after that, in 2010, the number of passengers doubled to 45 million. This low-fare short-haul airline was no\t the first airline was not the first airline with these characteristics. It was Southwest Airlines, an American airline which was introduced in 1967 and still going strong in 2016. (Quintano, 2015) Low cost airlines can be defined as being practical in a way that different low cost airlines offer different services. Some low cost airlines...
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...Company Ryanair started in year 1985 with only 57 staff members and with one 15 seater turboprop plane from the south of east of Ireland to London-Gatwick which carried 5000 passengers on one route (Harrison, 2002). In 1986, inspired from the story of David and Goliath the company go after the big guys for a slice of the action and end up smashing the Aer Lingus or British Airways high fare cartel on the Dublin-London route. The staff increased from mere 57 to 120 staff members and the plane carried for about 82,000 passengers on two routes. In 1989, the company employed 350 staff and their average maximum passengers increased to 600,000. In 1990-1991, the company has 700,000 passengers. However, despite of the increase of passengers, the company is not so good in managing cost that the company has lose its money. A new management team is brought in to sort it out and re-launch as a “low fares or no frills” airline, closely modelling the Southwest Airlines model in the U.S. And in 1994, Ryanair bought its first Boeing 737 aircraft which carried over 1.5 million passengers. In 1995, Ryanair is the biggest passenger carrier on Dublin-London route, the largest Irish airline on every route being operate and carried 2.25 million passengers in the year (Harrison, 2002). In 1997, the EU air transport deregulation allowed the airline for the first time to open up new routes to Continental Europe with over 3 million passengers on 18 routes carried. Ryanair launched services...
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...Pricing strategies of low cost airlines Keith J Mason Air Transport Group Cranfield University K.Mason@Cranfield.ac.uk 1. Introduction Low cost airlines such as EasyJet, and Ryanair have developed quickly in the European market in the last five years. The UK market has seen the most dramatic development where by the summer of 2001, these carriers accounted for over 22% of the short haul capacity from London and were present in 58% of the 128 short haul routes operated from this city (source: OAG, 2001). During a five-year period from 1997, the seat capacity offered from London has risen by 17%, and virtually all of this rise (95.4%) was attributable to the low cost carriers. The low cost carriers have both penetrated and grown these markets, principally by garnering a consumer perception that the fares offered are very low. This perception has been developed in no small part by extensive advertising and effective use of public relations. For example, Ryanair has offered fares as low as one penny (plus taxes), and therefore it is not surprising that there is great media coverage of these carriers, which in turn generates more interest in the services. Both Ryanair and EasyJet have been very effective in using media coverage of their legal wrangles with traditional carriers such as British Airways and Lufthansa to promote their services and low fares. While the media has helped these airlines communicate their message of low fares to the public...
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...Ryanair – The low fares airline: Whither now? Main Problems Ryanair’s growth rate is affected by macroeconomic factors such as the recession, as seen in 2010 when Ryanair saw a 200% increase in profit and traffic growth, as the low fares became attractive for those suffering from the current climate. Uncertainty still remains regarding the economic climate; problems would arise if it continued, as passengers would reduce spending restricting the company’s passenger volume growth. If the economic climate was to grow, business and leisure passengers may choose to pay more and travel with a full service airline, this could consequently result in demand for low-cost flights to drop. One of the greatest concerns is fuel prices the ability to estimate future costs are limited due to unforeseen natural disasters and conflicts. Rising oil prices have had an impact on Ryanair, in 2008 Ryanair’s profit before tax was £439 million which fell down to £181 million the following year due to an increase in fuel costs by £100 million. As Ryanair’s declaration of ‘no fuel surcharge ever’, and its reliance on low fares limit its capacity to pass on increased fuel prices will inevitable result in low profits or ticket prices will have to rise. Ryanair faces stiff competition in Europe from a number of airlines including, BritishAirways, WizzAir, SkyEurope and EasyJet. In this competitive market airlines will need to adopt new strategies to avoid losing market share. Rivalry among existing...
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...fThe Low-cost Orange Flying Machine: The Case of easyJet Introduction The colour orange is increasingly becoming synonymous with the firm easyJet as it has become one of the world’s most profitable low-cost airlines (Alamdari and Fagan, 2005). This paper examines the basis of their success and argues firstly, that easyJet from its inception essentially adopted and stayed with the original low-cost model that was pioneered by Southwest airlines in the USA. Moreover, this is a model that has served them well, resulting in sustained business performance and growth over a decade. However, our second point is that with this growth, and increased competition, there are signs of the need for a change. Accordingly, in what follows, we examine in turn: the historical origins of easyJet, emphasizing its values and the influence of the Southwest airlines model; the essential features of its business model; and some indication of its business performance over time. Historical Origins: Personality, Values and the Southwest Way EasyJet was conceived in 1995, with its first flight occurring in November of that year. There are numerous descriptions of the early start-up days, but one of the most vivid is surely the following (Calder 2006: 113): The entrance to the average airline’s headquarters is an impressive affair, intended to impress visitors. But the HQ of Britain’s most successful low-cost airline is far from average. For a while, the modest foyer of easyland – the huddle...
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...This report analyses and evaluates the potential for EasyJet to continue to be competitive in the UK and Europe but also the opportunity to expand into India INTRODUCTION – THE COMPANY AN OVERVIEW Easyjet Airline was established in 1995 by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou a Greek Cypriot as part of EasyGroup Holdings Ltd. He envisaged it as a low cost airline which could impact on the existing domestic market in the UK which was at the time dominated by large British companies such as British Airways and British Midland. The Company started with two leased airplanes and began operating from London Luton to Glasgow and Edinburgh In 1996 they began operating from Luton to Amsterdam and now in 2014, operate on 633 routes across more than 30 countries and own 217 Airbus aircraft. They employ over 8,000 people including 2,000 pilots and 4,500+ cabin crew and in 2013 they flew over 60 million passengers They now claim that “over 300 million people within a one hour drive of an EasyJet airport” (Easyjet About Us 2013) The obvious move for the airline for further growth may now be outside of Europe and India may be the best market to consider. PESTLE Analysis Political/Legal Up to April 1997 the European Airline Market was regulated strictly and each county controlled their own airline companies. After 1997 and deregulation the European market opened up for carriers and subsequently for example an Irish low cost carrier like Ryan Air was allowed to operate between two other European countries...
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...can examine to determine this: 1. Find the main source market profiles? * To get this result I will be using Primary Source information by sending a questionnaire. 2. How is the company continually expanding? * Quantitative paragraph researches how Aer Lingus has progressed over the last 10 years and how the new focus today is for an ever expansion of its long haul flights. 3. What differs Aer Lingus to other airlines? * Qualitative we have a look at the service levels that make this airline unique. * Secondary Data shows who Aer Lingus is partnered with to connect Ireland with the rest of the world. * Strategy specifies why Aer Lingus cannot be a Ryanair. * Routes Operated by Aer Lingus is more central to the peripheral airports offered by Ryanair. * SWOT analysis goes into further detail on how this airline is distinctive from others. History: Aer Lingus was founded by the Irish Government in 1936 to provide air services between Ireland and the UK. Its name is derived from the Irish 'long' meaning 'ship' and is therefore translated as 'Air Fleet.' On 27 May 1936, Aer Lingus made its maiden voyage from Baldonnel Aerodrome in Dublin to Bristol (Whitchurch airfield) in the UK. A six-seater De...
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...third lower than that of easyJet. Excluding fuel costs, the difference is even starker, with Easyjet’s cost per passenger 67% above that of Ryanair. This unit cost advantage against easyJet stems mainly from airport and handling charges. This, in turn, comes from Ryanair's use of smaller, lower cost airports with fast turnaround times, its bargaining power with airports and the impact of bag and check-in fees on lowering handling and check-in costs at airports. Costs per passenger (EUR, ex fuel) | Ryanair | easyJet | Norwegian | Air Berlin | Spirit | Southwest | Staff | 5 | 8 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 33 | Airports & Handling | 8 | 18 | 8 | 26 | 15 | 22 | Route Charges | 6 | 6 | 13 | 8 | - | - | Aircraft O’ship & Maint. | 6 | 8 | 17 | 20 | 16 | 17 | Sales & Marketing | 2 | 6 | 12 | 31 | 4 | 2 | Total | 27 | 46 | 65 | 99 | 51 | 74 | % vs Ryanair | - | +67% | +137% | +262% | +86% | +170% | Source: CAPA - Centre for Aviation and latest available accounts via Ryanair presentation 28 January 2013 Another important source of unit cost advantage is its labour force, which is more productive and flexible (around 50% of flight crew are contractors employed only when required). It also benefits from high seat density (189 seats per aircraft, compared with easyJet’s 156 on A319s and 174 on A320s), high load factors (82% for Ryanair in the year to December 2012 versus just below 80% for AEA carriers), a point to point strategy that allows high aircraft utilisation, a...
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...airlines such as Easyjet as well as main stream international airlines such a British Airways. I will also be looking at how Ryanair has gone from nothing to being the No.1 low cost airline. Introduction Ryanair was founded in 1985 by Tony Ryan who in 1994 past it over to his deputy chief executive Michael O’Leary who has been there to this day. They had their initial public offering in 1997 when they introduced Ryanair Holdings plc on Dublin and New York (NASDAQ) Stock exchanges. They listed on the United Kingdom a year later. Ryanair joined the NASDAQ Top 100 in December 2002, reflecting the phenomenal increase of Ryanair's value and the commitment of its 1,800 staff. There plan was to become “Europe's largest airline in the next 8 years to come.” Their basic plan to achieve this was to have “low fares and friendly, efficient service” and to do this they would have “Superb cost management” and they would land in airports “that don't rip you off.” Ryanair flies strictly to 'secondary' airports up to 60 miles from the real destination, where fees are low or the airline is even paid to fly there. Also Free seats when they were feeling generous and no frills on flights but they would sell food, drink and gifts. They also had punchy advertising that sometimes got them in trouble, and they took cheaper routes to different destinations. What Ryanair have done over the years Over the past ten years they have increased their annual traffic from under 700,000 to over 15...
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