Ryanair’s Business Model 2011 – Air Scoop Report

admin — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 13:35:25 +0000

Disclaimer

Ryanair Limited has contacted us to dispute the validity of several statements that appear in Air Scoop’s 2011 report on Ryanair’s business model. In Ryanair’s opinion, these statements are either unsubstantiated and/ or false. We value external input on our work as we strive to produce fair, informative and well-documented research documents.

The report we compiled provides the reader with a synthesis of information from various sources. We think it fair and balanced to provide our readers with a summary of Ryanair’s disagreements and the statements they relate to.

You may find here below a table of the statements and Ryanair’s comments:

Statement	Ryanair’s comment
“Stretched to the limits as aircraft and crews are, the tiniest problems could have the worst consequences for the airline, and its passengers.” P.43	Unsubstantiated, false.
“As part of its effort to comply with FAA regulations, Ryanair has, over the last few years, had to implement a number of additional maintenance procedures and minor changes on its Boeing 737-800.” P.43	Unsubstantiated, false. The implied meaning being that these procedures and changes were as a result of poor maintenance and safety, rather than normal maintenance and/or Boeing recommendations with which all operators are obliged to comply.
“For turnaround check and rotable repairs, Ryanair relies exclusively on external contractors. It is a part of its strategy to minimise the number of in-house employees.” P.45	This claim is false as Ryanair uses a mixture of internal as well as external resources.
“When it comes to handling maintenance contractors, it has been reported that Ryanair forces external contractors to lower their costs for the company. Allegedly, the company coerces contracted companies into creating Ryanair-dedicated subsidiaries employing lower-paid employees. As a result, engineers taking care of Ryanair planes on the ground are often found to be less experienced, less skilled and less paid than any others. This comes down to lighter aircraft handling costs for Ryanair but could also lead to major safety and security issues surrounding planes overtime.” P.45	Engineers employed by Ryanair (or its subcontractors) are paid highly competitive salaries that are well within the industry norm. There is absolutely no evidence to support the false and misleading claim that engineers working on Ryanair aircraft are “often found to be less experienced, less skilled and less paid than any others”. The qualification levels for staff to allow them certify work on aircraft, including experience levels, is set out by the European Aviation Safety Agency and all our staff meet these criteria. The implication Ryanair sacrifices on quality of aircraft maintenance to save money is false.
“When it comes to safety issues Ryanair makes no secret that it has an almost spotless record of fatalities onboard any of its planes.” P.45	This claim is false, misleading. Ryanair has never had a fatality onboard any of its planes due to a flight incident or crew actions. In addition, the claim that “the company has a generous track record of incidents with its planes” is false and bears the implied meaning to the ordinary reader that flying with Ryanair is unsafe. There is no basis for making such a false claim.
“When it comes to medical emergencies, a recent incident has highlighted a possible lack of qualification on part of cabin crews, as a passenger suffering a heart attack was given nothing but a sandwich and a glass of water, which he had to pay for.” P.46	The incident involving a passenger who allegedly suffered a heart attack during a flight is incorrectly reported. Ryanair staff are subject to and comply with a thorough and standard safety procedure in the event of medical emergencies.
“Insufficient maintenance” P.46	This claim, contained in one of the headings in your report, is false.
“While a consequent part of reported incidents where linked to faulty sensors and alarm signals, the fact that these are faulty are in themselves a sign of bad maintenance.” P.46	This claim is false.
“Other occurrences are more worrying, revealing weaknesses in the general state of planes. Several incidents related to misaligned flaps, engine malfunction and landing gear troubles have occurred over the past five years, leaving doubts regarding the adequacy of Ryanair’s maintenance.” P.46	These claims are false. Maintenance of Ryanair aircraft is overseen and regulated by the Irish Aviation Authority and the European Aviation Safety Agency.
“As stated earlier, Ryanair’s aircraft fly with marginal fuel reserves lower than industry’s average. While these are not always listed, for lack of being declared proper emergencies through a “mayday”, various sources report Ryanair planes frequently requesting priority landing due to being short on fuel. Nevertheless, up to now, no major problem has emerged from these situations of very low fuel reserves. It remains to be seen if such a policy stands the test of time.” P.46	This claim is false.
“Disregard for safety regulations:” P.46	False in its natural and ordinary meaning.
“It appears that some of Ryanair’s Boeing 737-800 are flying without all their carts, compromising the latching of carts stored in the galleys. It also appears, that crews do not always use fire proof rubbish bags on carts and in the toilets, which could result in a potential fire hazard during a flight.” P.46	Ryanair complies with all safety regulations.

A year ago, Air Scoop published its first-ever report on Ryanair's business model. The goal was to establish a comprehensive report on the most disruptive low-cost airline on the market to serve as reference for years to come. This year, Air Scoop is publishing a new, thoroughly revised and updated, version of its report on Ryanair's business model.

The goal is to provide the reader with a brief, compelling, overview of Ryanair's business model, as well as highlight new elements and evolution in the carrier's development. The new report is intended as a complement to the previous one and offered entirely free as a downloadable PDF and as a public document on Scribd.

Download our new report: Air Scoop Report: Ryanair's Business Model 2011

Air Scoop Ryanair Business Model 2011