Introduction The internet has become very important to many businesses. Several businesses have become global thanks to the internet. The internet and information technology has revolutionised the airline industry. For the purpose of this paper Ryanair and the Ryanair web site will be used to analyse the eight key perspectives of eCommerce. It will also analyse Ryanair business strategy, marketing strategy, future site development and conclude on same. Ryanair has 37 bases and 950+ low fare routes across 26 countries.
Ryanair currently employs a team of more than 7,000 people and expects to carry approximately 66 million passengers in the current fiscal year. (Ryanair 2010) Ryanair are well positioned, their business strategy is no frills, budget airline. They have big plans for expansion. Ryanair keep up to date with any changes that may affect them and keep a close eye on their external environment. Ryanair is Europe’s biggest lowcost airline, and one of the world’s most successful. Ryanair was established as a low-cost carrier in 1985. Ryanair 2010) chief executive Michael O’Leary can be accredited with huge success. Ryanair use the internet to communicate with their customers. E-business and E-market place has given Ryanair huge opportunities to increase their profitability by reducing costs. E-business has meant that Ryanair can reach their customers directly. As Internet usage increases the opportunities available for Ryanair will also increase. E-business has given Ryanair the opportunity to remove intermediaries (Travel agents) and market directly to their customers.
This means that huge savings are made and these are passed on to the customer. Ryanair sells 100% of their tickets online direct to their customers (Ryanair 2010). This gives Ryanair a direct link to their customers also. Ryanair website allows users to hire low cost car hire, hotel, B&B, hostel reservation and airport transfers to name just a few services available. Ryanair have allowed their site to be used as an electronic intermediary for these car hire and hotel companies. E–business has created a huge target market for Ryanair. They have integrated -business with their business model superbly. E-marketing has helped Ryanair to get closer to their customers. Ryanair have built their airline business using the internet. The introduction of e-marketing in the airline industry has provided the company with many opportunities. Ryanair are a low cost airline company, it is vital that they keep reducing costs. For e. g. the company reduce costs of its paper bill by providing e-tickets to its customers. Their e-marketing strategies have also helped them to make their value chain more effective and efficient.
Eight key perspectives of Ryanair are electronic distributors they take responsibility for order fulfilment through their website. 100% of all tickets are sold online. Since the 25th October 2009 all check in must be completed online. (Ryanair 2010) Ryanair booking facility allows passengers to choose cheapest travel itinerary. Customers are able to view the prices of different flights on the web site and can select the best priced according to their requirement. Ryanair is a eMall they offer many different product and services on their website e. g. otel reservation lets the customer see all the hotels to suit their requirement and what these hotels are offering. This allows the customer to compare hotels and price. Ryanair is a generalised eMall they offer many different products and services: credit cards, car hire, hotel reservations, B&B reservation, hostel reservations, travel insurance and gift vouchers to name just a few. Ryanair are a full cyber marketing company 100% of its flights are booked on line and check has to be carried out on line. Their website is proactive this is vital for Ryanair as all their distributions and sales are completed on their website.
Their website offers live flight information Ryanair has a global focus; this is a necessity in the airline industry. They offer thirty different languages to their customers using their website. Ryanair accept any currency the customer wants to pay in. this is necessary for them to achieve a global focus. Ryanair are a sales focus site and do it very well. They have built up the trust of customers over time. This is very evident in the fact that they now require all check in to be completed on the website. Their web presence is not that visible.
If one was to type in cheap flights Ryanair come ninth on the list with Airlingus placed before them. This does not affect Ryanair’s success because Ryanair have built their brand on being the cheapest no frills airline. When one would say cheap flights the immediate reaction is to think Ryanair. This proves that their brand has huge dept and width. Ryanair also show a customer service element to their site they offer travel questions, Ryanair games, detailed information about their service, information about their company, they even offer a news section.
Ryanair take full advantage of Internet in maintaining relationships with their customers and promoting their website to customers by sending emails updating customers of their offers. Their offer at the present is one million seats for ? 8 each. (Ryanair 2010) Marketing mix Product/Service. •Low cost, no frills air travel. •No free food or drink onboard. •Food and drink on board sold to increase revenues •Deals with hotel businesses and Hertz car rental Ryanair takes a commission on selling these •These keep costs low. Price •Ryanair has low fares. 70% of seats are sold at the lowest two fares. 30% of seats are charged at higher fares. The last 6% are sold at the highest fare Place •Ryanair do not use intermederies (travel agents). •Direct marketing to attract, recruit and retain customers •Extend products and services to customers •Book online on their website •Use secondary airport,which are cheaper •Secondary airports are not as busy aircraft turnaround is quicker •Keep aircraft in the air as much as possible •These keeps costs low Promotion •Spend very little on advertising. No advertising agency employed all of the advertising is carried out inhouse •Use simple but very effective adverts that informs customers of its low cost airline. •Use a lot of controversy to promote its airline evident recently with their bid for hanger six •Use aircrafts to advertise for other companies •These keep costs low People •Pilots are recruited when they are young as pilot cadets •Cabin crew pay for their uniforms to be cleaned •Cabin crew are responsible for passenger safety as well as pushing in flight offers like food and drinks. •These keep costs low Physical Evidence They pay as little as possible for their aircraft. •They buy their aircrafts when other airlines don’t want them (september 11) •All aircrafts are the same •These keep costs low Process •Buy ticket online •Check in on line •Show your passport and reference number •Operates first come, first served for seating •There are no air bridges, you walk or are bused to and from the aircraft •These keep costs low Ryanair’s website at present is jam packed with information. Their advertisements for other companies flash continuously on the right side and underneath their booking information.
The left and the top of their site is used for their own company. Their site is easy to use and as a customer one would feel Ryanair is trustworthy and happy to use their site. Ryanairs likely future development of its website maybe to increase their advertising space on their site. They may possibly start offering more services from different companies on the website. Conclusion As Ryan air is one of the low cost providers, it is important for it to save costs. Therefore Internet technologies have made this possible through saving costs by introducing paperless tickets.
From analysing this website it can be said that Ryanair’s Internet model is effective enough to achieve its goals of saving costs. However, Ryanair’s market demand must stay high and they must continue to keep their costs low, their current strategy. With this in mind there is no reason why Ryanair will not continue to flourish in the future. Their business and marketing strategy to date have been very successful. Their business is their website and their brand. Reference Ryanair, 2010 News, viewed 2 March 2010 http://www. ryanair. com/en
