Ryanair 2009 Annual Report Download - page 49

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STRATEGY
Ryanair’s objective is to firmly establish itself as Europe’s leading scheduled passenger airline, through
continued improvements and expanded offerings of its low-fares service. In the highly challenging current
operating environment, Ryanair seeks to offer low fares that generate increased passenger traffic while
maintaining a continuous focus on cost-containment and operating efficiencies. The key elements of Ryanair’s
long-term strategy are:
Low Fares. Ryanair’s low fares are designed to stimulate demand, particularly from fare-conscious
leisure and business travelers who might otherwise use alternative forms of transportation or choose not to travel
at all. Ryanair sells seats on a one-way basis, thus eliminating minimum stay requirements from all travel on
Ryanair scheduled services. Ryanair sets fares on the basis of the demand for particular flights and by reference
to the period remaining to the date of departure of the flight, with higher fares charged on flights with higher
levels of demand and for bookings made nearer to the date of departure. Ryanair also periodically runs special
promotional fare campaigns. See “—Route System, Scheduling and Fares—Low and Widely Available Fares”
below.
Customer Service. Ryanair’s strategy is to deliver the best customer service performance in its peer
group. According to reports by the Association of European Airlines (“AEA”) and the airlines’ own published
statistics, Ryanair has achieved better punctuality, fewer lost bags, and fewer cancellations than all of the rest of
its peer group in Europe. Ryanair achieves this by focusing strongly on the execution of these services and by
primarily operating from un-congested airports. Ryanair conducts a daily conference call with Ryanair and
airport personnel at each of its base airports, during which the reasons for each flight delay and baggage short-
shipment are discussed in detail and logged to ensure that the root cause is identified and rectified. Customer
satisfaction is measured by regular online, mystery-passenger and employee surveys.
Frequent Point-to-Point Flights on Short-Haul Routes. Ryanair provides frequent point-to-point
service on short-haul routes to secondary and regional airports in and around major population centers and travel
destinations. In the 2009 fiscal year, Ryanair flew an average route length of 409 miles and average flight
duration of approximately 1.55 hours. Short-haul routes allow Ryanair to offer its low fares and frequent
service, while eliminating the need to provide unnecessary “frills,” like in-flight meals and movies, otherwise
expected by customers on longer flights. Point-to-point flying (as opposed to hub-and-spoke service) allows
Ryanair to offer direct, non-stop routes and avoid the costs of providing “through service,” for connecting
passengers, including baggage transfer and transit passenger assistance.
In choosing its routes, Ryanair favors secondary airports with convenient transportation to major
population centers and regional airports. Secondary and regional airports are generally less congested than major
airports and, as a result, can be expected to provide higher rates of on-time departures, faster turnaround times
(the time an aircraft spends at a gate loading and unloading passengers), fewer terminal delays, more
competitive airport access, and lower handling costs. Ryanair’s “on time” performance record (arrivals within
15 minutes of schedule) for the 2009 fiscal year was 88%. According to comparative data from Aer Lingus,
easyJet, and the AEA, Ryanair’s “on time” performance record exceeded that of its principal competitors,
including: Aer Lingus (approximately 73%); Air France (approximately 84%); British Airways (approximately
78%); easyJet (approximately 71%); Lufthansa (approximately 84%); and Alitalia (approximately 76%). (Data
for Alitalia excludes the period from November 2008 to January 12, 2009, as data for this period was not
published.) Faster turnaround times are a key element in Ryanair’s efforts to maximize aircraft utilization.
Ryanair’s average scheduled turnaround time for the 2009 fiscal year was approximately 25 minutes. Secondary
and regional airports also generally do not maintain slot requirements or other operating restrictions that can
increase operating expenses and limit the number of allowed take-offs and landings.