Ryanair marketing strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ryanair marketing strategies - Essay Example According to the research findings Ryanair began its operations in 1985 with a single 15-seater plane, primarily a conventional airline from Dublin and Waterford in the Ireland Republic to London. During the initial years of operations, the airline faced significant financial challenges, which led to losses in the company. After an analysis of its marketing strategies, the company decided to re-launch in 1990/1991 as a â€Å"no frills†, low cost air carrier, replicating the business model of American Southwest Airline. Since then, price has been the integral marketing strategy of the company, promoting and maintaining its growth in the European low-cost airline industry. These changes were the ideas of Michael O’Leary, initially the financial controller of the company. O’Leary, now the chief executive officer at the company, persuaded Tony Ryan (owner) to redress financial issues affecting the company at the time. He developed a marketing strategy based on Americ an Southwest Airlines, introducing the concept of low-cost, â€Å"no frills† in the airline. These changes stemmed the losses of the company, as well as turning the venture into a huge success. According to statistics, the company posted a profit after tax of 303million dollars in 2006, a 13% increase from that recorded in 2005. Currently, the airline operates in more than 146 routes to 84 different destinations in 16 countries, carrying more than 15 million passengers annually. Further, the airline plans to become the largest airliner in Europe in a few years. By any standards, one can consider the company as successful, primarily based on its growth in the market as well as its profitability. 2. Mission and Strategy The objective of Ryanair is to be the largest and leading low-cost airline in Europe through continuous expansions and improvements in its low-cost services. The primary objective that are in place to achieve this include, low-cost fare, industry-leading custome r service, strong commitment to quality and safety maintenance, flight services on short-haul routes, leveraging the internet, and low operating costs that address personnel productivity, aircraft and equipment, airport access fees and customer service costs. The principal policy of Ryanair is to offer the lowest flight fares available from any carrier (Gugenheimer, 2006:67). For instance, the company often matches the prices of a competitor if they lower their prices. Consequently, one may consider this anomaly given that the company has a strong commitment to provide quality customer service, but these two strategic elements are complementary insofar as the company is concerned. Ryanair strategically uses small regional airports for its flight operations, keeping the operations costs low as well as providing a less congested traffic alternative for its customers travelling, thus less delays. Additionally, the frequent, short-haul flights do not require provision of complex service s such as food and drinks, as they are rather short compared