The low-cost airline model in Europe on the example of Ryanair and the passengers' perception

The purpose of this thesis is to present and analyze the Irish airline company “Ryanair” as a low-cost carrier. We hope to deepen our knowledge on strategic issues, both practically by investigating the strategies of the airline and theoretically by studying theoretical frameworks and models concerning its strategic management.
Low-cost airlines have undoubtedly revolutionised the way the airline market operates. The most recognised marked effect has plausibly been in relation to the availability of low fares, and the prominent increase in the choice of destinations and airports available to passengers.
The heart of the thesis is based on providing an all-round profile of low-cost Ryanair model and its strategy made in order to stimulate demand, particularly from budget-conscious leisure travellers, who might otherwise have used alternative forms of transportation, or who might not have travelled at all.

Ryanair itself advertises these cost advantages as follows: “[...] Low Fares and friendly, efficient service, that’s our way. And how do we do it? Superb cost management. Landing in airports that don’t rip you off [...]” (http://www.ryanair.com/en/careers/working-for-ryanair).

In this introductive part therefore, research questions are formulated, followed by thesis aims and objectives. An overview of the methodology used and of the overall thesis structure is presented as well.
In detail, the aim is to investigate the strategic moves of Ryanair and thereby reflect the recent events within the industry and the current situation by answering the following research questions:
Which major changes, both economically and geographically brought Ryanair in Europe ? How Ryanair can keep such a low-cost fares ?
The research questions will be answered throughout the thesis, starting from chapter 1, where we will provide background and justification for undertaking the research. Chapter 2 is dedicated to the history of Ryanair. The company is introduced from its early stages, when it was just a small 1-route company, to the last decade, when it became the largest low-cost airline in Europe, with more than 1100 low fare routes across 26 countries, connecting 157 destinations with a fleet of 250 aircraft.
Chapter 3 analyses the low-cost business system, focusing on Ryanair peculiarities. We will set out the main innovations in the low-cost phenomenon and we will outline how Ryanair model works and in which respect it differs from traditional airlines. Hence, the extents to which Ryanair have changed the aviation market will be discussed, both in relation to how airlines as a whole have responded to the low-cost innovations, and also how new secondary airports have been, somewhat surprisingly, successful.
Within chapter 4, we will focus on the efficient use of labour made by Ryanair, since as also stated by Barrett (2004), one of the contributions to the Ryanair low-cost model, comes from its labour productivity.
Chapter 5 includes the empirical data collected by a questionnaire undertaken by the author in the airport of Wroclaw in order to obtain greater understanding of needs and expectation of Ryanair passengers. Successively the data are analysed and results are discussed in regard to the theories and models introduced in chapter 3.
In the final conclusions, the main points are summarized in consideration of the purpose and research questions.