Why does RyanAir continue to be popular?

Poq

First off, is RyanAir doing increasingly better, or has their success stalled?

Perhaps all of the negative press it gets helps them? As the old adage goes, any PR is good PR.

Very often I've noticed that regular airlines are only a few pounds more expensive. Apart from cases where the prices are really dirt cheap, it seems that people are picking saving money over ethics of the business (low paid workers, passengers heckled often) and the CEO (seems like a sexist schmuck).

Your thoughts on why they continue to succeed?

Mr_Wang

Poq wrote: »

First off, is RyanAir doing increasingly better, or has their success stalled?

Perhaps all of the negative press it gets helps them? As the old adage goes, any PR is good PR.

Very often I've noticed that regular airlines are only a few pounds more expensive. Apart from cases where the prices are really dirt cheap, it seems that people are picking saving money over ethics of the business (low paid workers, passengers heckled often) and the CEO (seems like a sexist schmuck).

Your thoughts on why they continue to succeed?

Because its cheap and no frills.

The reality is you can fly to far flung corners of Europe cheaper than a train from the North of England to the South.

If you want to talk about ethics, lets talk about your bank account.

111KAB

Good punctuality record compared say with the market looser (Monarch).
New same make planes, large fleet with plenty of bases - ie if there is a problem they often have a stand by there or nearby with a crew trained for that plane (Boeing).
Generally cheaper that their competitors.
Sometimes have bargain deals to fill those empty seats so they attract pax who otherwise might not go away.
Often stick their neck out to fly to places others wouldn't consider and at times/seasons which others have discounted.
Manage to negotiate lower landing fees which they pass onto their customers.
Generally a stack of reasons ~ if you want to see how not to operate in the aviation world of bookings take a look at Monarch Airlines!

jillie1974

because for every negative there are a far superior number of positives

Hezzawithkids

Poq wrote: »

Perhaps all of the negative press it gets helps them? As the old adage goes, any PR is good PR.

Ryanair are a very efficient PR machine. Think this has been posted elsewhere but how often have we seen media articles about their latest crackpot ideas for squeezing their customers pockets until their pips squeak (anyone remember standing seats? pay £1 to use the loo?). It saves them a fortune in advertising and keeps their prices low. I sometimes imagine the scene in the Ryanair boardroom where the execs are sitting around dreaming up these mad ideas while that gob!!!!! O'Leary sits at the head of the table stroking a white cat!

As someone once said, if you pay sh*t then you can be expected to be treated like sh*t.

kwmlondon

Well, talk about poor workers, my partner worked for BA and the people who work on mixed fleet (long haul AND short flights) get a really rough deal, the only people I know of who do well are those who got on contracts over a decade ago when you basically a UK Civil Service contract.

I recon that the reason Ryanair does so well is that everyone expects it to be really, really bad and when it's just mediocre people's expectations are exceeded. It's a good ploy as lots of people think of it as being like taking a Megabus instead of the train - much cheaper but less convenient. I guess for some people it is, but the reality is that safety reasons are non-negotiable so there's only so cheap airline tickets can get.

Bob_the_Saver

One other big plus is that with Ryanair you can often fly to where you want to go to. If you want to fly to a main hub to meet up with a long-haul flight that's not what they mainly do. People talk about Ryanair flying to out of the way places but how many people go on holiday or to visit friends in Heathrow Terminal 5. If people don't want to fly to these places they soon drop the route. Look at Ryanair's extensive route map and compare it with BA's European offering.
Not everyone lives near or want's to holiday near a main hub.
The whole industry watches what Mo'L is doing, today's news about BA offering 'discounts' to some passengers with hand baggage only sounds familiar.

Poq

Hezza, I think you're on the right track — that pushing out those crazy ideas gets them free PR and keeps them relevant.

I think it's weird how newspapers latch on to it all — after all, the proposed measures have not yet been implemented yet. So it's not really journalism... just regurgitating whatever comes out of a CEOs mouth.

On the other hand, reports like those do show the character of the CEO and executives — that they are willing to do anything to get a lower price for themselves...

I always get caught in the money saving vs. ethical spending dilemma. RyanAir make it very easy to make a judgement if another airline is only marginally more expensive. An analogy can be buying local UK/organic produce, or saving a few pence and buying something dirt cheap that Tesco has put together through their abusive and unethical supply chain. That is not to say that white label goods are bad (in fact, many big brands have the same exact unethical practices, but many times the price).

jillie1974 wrote: »

because for every negative there are a far superior number of positives

Like what?




For one, I wouldn't say that favorable price outweighs questionable ethics. Staff work long hours with low compensation, another thing that that comes to mind is charging for wheelchairs and oxygen tanks.

As well as things like:

Abusing their power; going on a superiority trip?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/02/ryanair-reportedly-boots-passenger_n_2063627.html

Skimping on safety?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/19/ryanair-facing-investigation_n_1896180.html

Mr_Wang wrote: »

If you want to talk about ethics, lets talk about your bank account.

Huh?

duchy

I'm not sure I "like" Ryanair but their way of business suits me as I rarely travel with hold luggage ,I like an airline with an excellent on-time record and don't like high fares.

If they fly where I want to go I'll use them . I'm not a particular fan of BA and on longer trips (mainly US) I generally use US carriers for preference but although I prefer Easyjet to Ryanair for a short flight I don't care much so long as they are reliable and a decent price -but I'm certainly not going to pay BA £200 for the same route when Ryanair only want £50 (a recent example)

balletshoes

duchy wrote: »

I'm not sure I "like" Ryanair but their way of business suits me as I rarely travel with hold luggage ,I like an airline with an excellent on-time record and don't like high fares.

If they fly where I want to go I'll use them . I'm not a particular fan of BA and on longer trips (mainly US) I generally use US carriers for preference but although I prefer Easyjet to Ryanair for a short flight I don't care much so long as they are reliable and a decent price -but I'm certainly not going to pay BA £200 for the same route when Ryanair only want £50 (a recent example)

this is my attitude to flights too. I can do up to 5 or 6 days holiday with just hand luggage (conforming to ryanair/flybe etc weight/size restrictions) so if Ryanair fly to and from where I want them to, and the price is right, I'll use them. I use Easyjet regularly, for the same reasons.

jpsartre

Bob_the_Saver wrote: »

Not everyone lives near or want's to holiday near a main hub.

I think that's an underrated advantage of the LCC's. For many passengers, when the choice is between a non-stop flight from the regions or a flight with a stop-over in London or some other hub, they'll go for the former option, even if the total price is comparable.