The sustainability of the Ryanair model

Abstract

This paper examines the growth of Ryanair, Europe’s largest new entrant airline since deregulation. The sustainability of the Ryanair product is examined, including: acceptability to passengers, the use of secondary airports, labour productivity and use of outsourcing, corporate culture, policy environment and legal and policy obstacles. The growth of the airline is expected to continue because of the popularity of low fares, the willingness of passengers to forego traditional airline services in order to avail of low fares and the ability of Ryanair to control and reduce costs.