Ryanair 2009 Annual Report Download - page 55

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MARKETING AND ADVERTISING
Ryanair’s primary marketing strategy is to emphasize its widely available low fares and price
guarantee. In doing so, Ryanair primarily advertises its services in national and regional newspapers, as well as
through controversial and topical advertising, press conferences and publicity stunts. Other marketing activities
include the distribution of advertising and promotional material and cooperative advertising campaigns with
other travel-related entities, including local tourist boards.
RESERVATIONS ON RYANAIR.COM
Passenger airlines generally rely on travel agents (whether traditional or online) for a significant
portion of their ticket sales and pay travel agents commissions for their services, as well as reimbursing them for
the fees charged by reservation systems-providers. Following the introduction of its Internet-based reservations
and ticketing service, which now allows passengers to make reservations and purchase tickets directly through
the Company’s website, Ryanair’s reliance on travel agents has been eliminated. See “—Strategy—Taking
Advantage of the Internet” above for additional information.
On February 22, 2008, Ryanair upgraded its reservation system in order to facilitate the continued
expansion of the airline. The existing reservation system had been developed in the 1990s and was approaching
its capacity in terms of the total number of passenger transactions processed each year. The upgraded system is
much more scalable and will be able to cope with the planned growth of Ryanair. In addition, the new system
will also give the Company the ability to offer more enhancements to passengers, as the new platform is far
more flexible in terms of future development.
Under the agreement with the system-provider, Navitaire, the system will serve as Ryanair’s core
seating inventory and booking system. In return for access to these system functions, Ryanair will pay
transaction fees that are generally based on the number of passenger seat journeys booked through the system.
Navitaire will also retain a back-up booking engine to support operations in the event of a breakdown in the
main system. Over the last several years, Ryanair has introduced a number of Internet-based customer service
enhancements such as Internet check-in and priority boarding service and it recently announced that it would
move to 100% Internet check-in. These enhancements are focused on reducing waiting time at airports and
speeding a passenger’s journey from arrival at the airport to boarding, as well as significantly reducing airport
handling costs. Ryanair has also introduced a checked-bag fee and an airport check-in fee, which are payable on
the Internet and are aimed at reducing the number of bags carried by passengers in order to further reduce
ongoing handling costs. As a result of the introduction of the new system, Ryanair intends to continue to deliver
further passenger service enhancements by introducing Internet-based facilities to enable passengers to manage
their own bookings, including through the aforementioned transition to 100% Internet check-in.