Why is Ryan Air’s strategy so efficient and how you can replicate part of it to make more money (without charging less) (2024)

📢 All LinkedIn users interested in marketing should immediately follow Mael Blivet on LinkedIn and activate the notifications before proceeding to boarding at gate number 3!

Chances are you traveled with Ryan Air quite a few times over the past years.

In fact, ask any European who travels by plane to name the first cheap airline that comes to his/her mind, and the answer will likely be: “Ryan Air.”

This is what happens when a company is so good at branding its products or services that people start associating it with the company - even though the company didn’t originally invent the said product or service.

In this article, I will tell you the story of Ryanair, share interesting anecdotes, and tell you what part of the airline's strategy you should and shouldn't replicate as a freelancer.

Foundation of Ryanair in 1984

In 1984, when Ryanair was born, the company would employ 25 people and own a fleet of 5 small aircraft. By that time Ryanair’s passengers could only fly from Waterford to London.

A pricing strategy that creates new markets 🆕

By reducing considerably, the price of a plane ticket, Ryanair made traveling accessible. People who used to be too young or too poor to afford plane tickets were now potential customers.

This logically led to fantastic results as human beings are often driven by

• a desire to live new experiences
• a strong desire to show their peers they can afford to do what elites do (ego)

The bold decisions that changed everything and allowed the company to expand at the speed of light and dominate the market 🎲

In order to keep expanding, Ryanair quickly needed to own more planes. The only issue is… the cost of acquisition of a plane.

You may know this already: the capacity to take (sometimes) measured risks and bet on something is one of the things that makes very successful entrepreneurs stand out. Tony Ryan is no exception to the rule.

Four months after the 9/11 - an event that had dramatic impacts on the tourism industry and especially on airlines - the founder of Ryanair spoke personally with the CEO of Boeing and offered him a deal.

He would buy 100 boeings NOW, but he would do it at only a fraction of the standard price. People remember Boeing’s CEO was logically mad at Thomas Anthony for trying to use this really anxiogenic context as leverage to get a historical discount but… he had no choice! The company was at risk, and he did sign the contract.

Now that Ryanair owned more planes, the business would become scalable: more passengers could fly at the same times to more destinations and Ryanair’s profits would skyrocket.

Now have a guess: after the 9/11, which global context harmed the tourism industry? Yes, the answer is the Covid-19 pandemic. And that’s exactly when Ryanair ordered 210 new boeings.

Different context, same risk, same opportunity similar outcomes; in 2020 Ryanair grew again and set the ground to tremendous profits while its competitors and national airlines such as Alitalia went bankrupt!

Business and languages are similar in a thing: it’s all about context!

Low-cost, high profit (what you should and shouldn’t reproduce as a freelancer) 💡

By being way cheaper than its competition, Ryanair quickly gained market share year after year. Today, Ryanair is the fight biggest airline. In 2023, the company made no less than 10,775 million euros (annual revenue).

The first reason why Ryanair is so profitable is quite obvious: companies who want to increase their profit can either increase the prices of the products and services they sell or drive more sales.

No matter what you do, whether you are a copywriter, a translator, a video maker, a developer if you are a freelancer your time – your most valuable resource - is NOT scalable. That’s one of the numerous reasons why you shouldn’t sell your services at a low cost (other reasons include the fact that charging too little would damage your credibility and your reputation while leading your clients to think what you do is easy and thus refuse to pay a fair rate to use your services).

The second reason why Ryanair is so profitable is genius: the airline really mastered the art of upselling (something all freelancers can and should do).

Upselling is what happens when you – as a customer – feel the need to buy optional products or service and gladly pay 3$ to get extra fries. ➕➕➕

This is what happens before the fly when you gladly or not so gladly pay to be able to:

• carry medium-sized bags or luggage
• choose to sit next to the person you travel with
• get an insurance in case your luggage got lost
• avoid doing your checking manually

This is also what happens during the fly when you pay to

• eat or drink something
• buy duty-free perfumes
• buy a lottery ticket (and give money to a charity in the process which is basically a marketing hack in a marketing hack).

Do you really need those things? Are you sure there are no alternatives to those services which are no longer included?

It doesn’t matter! What matters is the result: most people choose Ryanair whenever they can because it is the cheapest airline. What they don’t realise though is they could (sometimes) fly on more comfortable airlines for the same price.

Ryanair doesn’t leave any money on the table

By accepting the terms and conditions of their services you acknowledge that their staff can fine you if you fly with an oversize luggage (as you know, in this context, the word is a bit strong).

Don’t worry, if you want to make sure that your luggage will fit, you can buy it from the airline 😉

By consistently offering lower prices and yet doing the job - despite being late, Ryanair flights do the job, they take you safely to your destination at a very competitive price - the airline dominates the market of low cost flights.

Now ask yourself, as a freelancer who offers X services to Y customers, how can I make good use of upselling and increase the average basket of my customers?

Share your ideas in the comments and let me know what are your travel dreams and marketing goals for 2024 🚀

Are you interested in #marketing and #tourism? Follow me on LinkedIn and activate the notifications.

🌐 Services I Offer: ✒️ Copywriting 🌍 Translation 🚀 Marketing Consultancies

A few words about who I am and how I can help you grow your business:

I am a French translator and copywriter expert in tourism, marketing, and communication. I worked in the tourism industry for several years before creating my language service business. I travel the world extensively to learn about other cultures, get out of my comfort zone, meet inspiring people and sharpen my language and my intercultural skills.

I work with Lonely Planet, 5 star hotels, startups and top-notch translation agencies.

I also teach translation at Université de Bourgogne and help other freelancers expand their network in partnership with ISIT , a prestigious translation school based in Paris.

I offer marketing consultancies to freelancers who struggle to define an efficient marketing strategy and acquire customers.

Whether you are a company who wants to reach French-speaking customers, or a freelancer struggling to acquire new customers and define a marketing strategy I can help you reach your goals.

Tell me about your needs

NB: I don't accept LinkedIn invitations without notes