Ryanair - 7

[EI-BUD]

MOL has said often that the future of aviation in Europe will include a few carriers, including LOCOs Ryanair and Easyjet. What is relevant is that while Ryanair may be significantly more profitable than Easyjet, you will find that Easyjet has higher sales and higher average fare. Easyjet operate alot less routes than Ryanair and in many markets have focused on adding frequency rather than routes.

The difference is that Easyjet can be the airline for the business man, on many markets they offer primary airports with frequency. It is probably true that Ryanair offer good frequency on many routes but in the last number of years many new routes coming along were 3/4 per week, suitable mostly for price conscious leisure travellers.

What MOL may be hinting at there is that they will look at big primary airports to operate from where good passenger supply is available.

Anyone who thinks that there is a flaw in MOL strategy would be quite naive. They have cash to burn and can use it to clear out competition.

I have always said that the brand needs to be elevated. Ryanair can be cheap and nasty but it is punctual, good aircraft, strong financials and an extremely flexible business model.

MOL has recognised in the past that building the brand of Ryanair on something other than low fares would have to be done by his successor. Maybe he will embrace this himself. Maybe they will rebrand the airline as a new and caring company!

Many of the locos have moved away from their price orientated slogans
Easyjet moved to Come On Lets fly and Aer Lingus (ok debatable if LOCO) from Low Fares way better to Enjoy your flight.

[racedo]

This is funny because as soon as MO'L has an interview the pavlovian anti Ryanair mob are on, the subject matter doesn't really matter as response is the same.

Funnily enough the question asked long time ago "IF FR moved from secondary airports to primary city based ones and started competing directly with the legacy airlines then where exactly would the legacy compete ?"

Lack of response or Ryanair couldn't do it is generally the standard response. Funny enough 10 years ago if anybody said they would carry twice passenger numbers of BA they would have been laughed at.

As per usual people underestimate what FR have done, long may they continue doing so.

[charliemouse]

You can't polish a turd...

But you can roll it in (blue and yellow) glitter...

[FR-]

Can this not be moved to the ryanair thread worm,

Oh and to the ryanair bashers

fr-

[F.O.E.]

When will MOL step aside??

"Asked when he expects to step down as Ryanair chief executive, the 49-year-old said he will stay at the helm until the carrier nearly doubles in size. "When we are twice the size we are now, at around 400 aircraft, then the growth rate slows down to 2% or 3% per year. "

We stop taking deliveries in 2012 and I dont think we will be at double the size then (I stand to be corrected) so I'm thinking its not going to be any time soon :-(

Doesn't matter if you polish up the brand people will always see it as the airline that "charged me 30euro at the gate" the airline that wasn't going to pay compensation after the ash cloud.... the airline that operated to X and back with no bars on board...... the list goes on and on everyone has their own bitter experience. The only reason why people would come back is due to price

There's an old saying "MUD STICKS" and ryanair are not made of Teflon

[waffler]

Place your bets: Will Ryanair reduce their fares by 10 euro if the travel tax is
eliminated or charge the same fare and keep the money ?

[james170969]

I can remember, not that long ago, when MOL said several times that most fares will be free and that Ryanair would rely on other sources of income. Now he is saying the business model will have to change and fares will have to rise. He has gone on and on about pay toilets, standing on planes, beds and b*** ****. This man talks a load of **** and to be honest I take everything he says with a huge pinch of salt.

[frfly]

I doubt fares will reduce....fares need to increase to become a long term viable business. It just means routes that under the tourist tax are not viable become so.

Would be fantastic to see all airlines in Ireland expand again and prove to the UK government the damaging effect APD has had on all UK airlines and inbound tourism.

[EI Premier]

Anyone who thinks that there is a flaw in MOL strategy would be quite naive. They have cash to burn and can use it to clear out competition.

There is no flaw per se in Michael O' Leary's strategy EI-BUD - after all he has achieved massive wealth maximisation for himself.

However, there is a flaw in FR's strategy as I stated above. It is a short term strategy that will not work in the longer term, as Michael O' Leary has admitted in the interview. The strategy of volume revenue generation cannot work once the scope for excessive growth declines - which is something that is not very far away either.

FR have to generate more fixed revenue streams - as opposed to transient ones in terms of routes only lasting for a year or a little more etc before aircraft are redeployed to new bases once again.

The problem is - how do you reposition a carrier which has a terrible reputation for customer service and no prestige brand recognition - but only differentiates on price. When that differentiating component is no longer so clear cut, there is going to be an issue.

Average air fares across the industry are heading north and will continue upon such a trajectory for some time.

EI Premier

[ESCNI]

Would be fantastic to see all airlines in Ireland expand again and prove to the UK government the damaging effect APD has had on all UK airlines and inbound tourism.

Assuming that they actually care, of course.

[MUFC_fan]

I think we all need to really forget about the "Spend a pound to spend a penny" rubbish MOL comes out with. How many times on this forum do people need to say that it is all PR - all of it.

This is a rare occurance where MOL has come out to the media and spoke as a CEO, not a PR mule he is such a master at.

I have all along said he is one of the best CEO's not just in aviation, but in any industry. He knows exactly how to work the media, how the public work and certainly how to run his business - the figures simply speak for themselves!

I think the key part in this article is his mentioning of shareholders. These are the people who bank rolled the company and the ones who want to see a return on their investment and MOL has made it very clear in years to come these people will want answers in the form of cash.

He is a true business master of our time whether you love of loath the man.

[maggot738]

"eventual fleet size of 400 aircraft"

The current fleet is set to stabilise at about 289 aircraft when all deliveries and disposals have been completed (I stand to be corrected). There are no negotiations currently underway for a new aircraft order in al the public statements therefore, unless there is a secret deal in place for new aircraft, it looks like MOL will be around for a long time to come.

Cheers
Maggot

[MUFC_fan]

Stand-up airline seats unveiled - Yahoo! Travel UK

Obviously impossible due to regulations regarding the number of passengers allowed on a 737 anyway, but could they be used and Ryanair look to introduce cargo in the newly created space?

MOL says they need to move away from the ultra low fares - could the small increase in turnaround times open up a complete new opportunity to FR?

[jpta2000]

New Route: BHX-MLA

New route Birmingham - Malta. Starting 15 Dec, twice weekly. Already on route map but not yet bookable.

This will be FR's 5th route from Malta to the UK (after the discontinuation of Bournemouth) and FR's 18th route to Malta this winter.

JP

[Sober Lark]

Not so long ago Ryanair had a competition where people could make wild cost saving suggestions. Now you are getting the ideas drip fed back to you via the media and that is the way it will be for the next few years because thousands of you entered. It's only a bit of fun and really not worth writing to the FT worried about it.

[ssflyer]

GRO-FR standoff

The Catalan paper, El Periodico, is currently headlining that MOL is threatening to move his Girona and Reus aircraft to BCN "as it the destination of 80% of PAX"
Girona has invested heavily on the back of FR with new facilities including terminal and multi storey carparks and many,many jobs are at stake.
Incidentally - I have no idea where the stats come from, as in my experience I think the figures for the April/October period for flights from the UK,Germany,Nederlands etc would show 80% are tourists for the Costa Brava NOT Barcelona.

[lfc84]

Flew FR 10/9 and 17/9. 2nd sector was delayed by 90 minutes. No gate agents around to provide information. Very miserable crew on both sectors who did their best to sell food, drink, scratch cards and phone cards to passengers but otherwise ok.

Nice and cheap price paid for LPL-LPA-LTN

Queued for an hour at passport control on return to UK at LTN though. This was actually the worst part of the trip

[Tom the Tenor]

All a part of the glamour of flying for you!

[airnoc]

That cheaps flights for you

[Skipness One Echo]

No gate agents around to provide information.

The cabin crew are the people who check your boarding card at the gate so don't expect a gate agent. Ryanair won't pay for one. Not a criticism, it usually works OK but I'm afraid them's the breaks!