With such impressive results for its third quarter, you could be forgiven for thinking so.
The airline has recently announced profits of almost 15 million Euros – a stunning turnaround compared with a loss of well over 10 million at the same time last year.
It also revised upward its yearend profit guidance to a maximum of 480 million Euros. All of this with 80 aircraft grounded for the winter!
But it takes more than luck to achieve results like this:
After the bankruptcies of Spanair and Hungary’s Malev it has moved like a lion for the kill to add capacity to its bases in Barcelona and Madrid. A new base opens in Budapest – amazingly within 2 weeks of being announced.
Entering the Ryanair den recently to talk to Michael Cawley, the COO and Deputy CEO, it became apparent that it is essential to be sleek and surefooted in the current climate.
“”The failure of Spanair and Malev highlights the flawed nature of many of the legacy carriers’ business models. The prompt response of Ryanair to both situations and the excellent financial performance of our airline equally show that Ryanair’s business model is the best in Europe” Cawley told me.
Having 80 planes grounded this winter has given the company the capacity to pounce with such speed on the sudden opportunities but in the summer all planes are spoken for. This will require some frantic reorganisation of capacity across the network but that’s something at which Ryanair is adept
Despite its size, the company could be described as organic- it remains nimble, fleet of foot, maverick and focussed. All characteristics which it could have lost through growth but hasn’t. It operates with attention to detail, army like, with military precision.
As with all airlines, Ryanair must face rising fuel prices and expects this to increase costs to the tune of 350million euros in the current financial year. This will lead to more airport skirmishes with BAA’s Edinburgh the latest to feel the heat.
Cawley’s view: “ As fuel climbs to over $100 a barrel and consumers are looking for better value, only the airline with the lowest costs will prosper and grow in this environment and deliver the traffic increases which airports so badly need.”
Expect to see Ryanair grabbing more territory in the months ahead – and expect JLS Consulting to be involved in some more airport tussles as Ryanair seeks to extract the best deals possible!
But above all don’t expect to see Messrs Cawley or O’Leary kissing the blarney stone or relying on the luck of the Irish to achieve their objectives…
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