Ryanair Marketing Project in Kuwait - Research Paper Example

Marketing Project-Kuwait Ryanair’s business model puts emphasis on optional fees for passengers, advertising, using e-commerce, and gradual lowering of costs. Ryanair lowers their costs by standardizing their Boeing-737s and contracting out services. Their use of secondary airports with an aim to cut turn-around times and charges is also a competitive advantage over rivals like Jazeera Air. Its point-to-point non-stop services would also appeal to business people plying the Europe-Middle east route. Ryanair is quite different from Jazeera Air because it carries out direct booking, which has no charges on sales commission. Additionally, the low average utilization of aircrafts, gives them a higher cost per every seat mile, this is different from Jazeera Air, which has cut its fleet and uses its aircrafts extensively (Shaw 35). This paper discusses how Ryanair’s limited airport transportation will work in the Middle East where the airports are concentrated. Consumers across the globe have continued to turn towards the internet for their various travel needs. This involves research on trips, comparison of prices, shopping for flights and booking. Consumers have found this convenient and vital to their business and personal travel needs. Looking across the markets with increased focus on the Middle East market, there are various emerging demographic trends that drive growth across the B2C travel industry. Understanding this trend is vital for Ryanair in order to create a strong presence online and increase market share. One demographic group, which would fly Ryanair is the age group from twenty five to thirty four. This is because these are the most likely to prefer low cost carriers, as they have just started earning and would be more willing to forfeit the comfort and luxury of a traditional airline for the cost saving measures of a low cost carrier like Ryanair. People from thirty five to forty four would also consider flying Ryanair because of its cost cutting. This is generated by the idea that they have most likely had increased responsibilities. However, it should be noted that these are those people in the middle to low income earning bracket. Those over sixty-five were the least willing to consider flying Ryanair. Another demographic, which would fly Ryanair would be students studying abroad or travelling for study trips. This would be informed by the fact that they will be doing this on funds from the government or school. However, there was a disparity with the sexes, with one woman claiming that low cost carriers did not provide enough segregation for women, and since she preferred to remove her booking on the flight, she would be uncomfortable. Another demographic that would most certainly be willing to fly Ryanair for its low cost measures is tourist groups. Given that most claimed to be travelling on a budget that they had been saving for a while. For business people, the most receptive to Ryanair travel were those in supervisory roles or junior management positions, in their companies. Those in middle management roles were also receptive of the idea of a low cost carrier. However, those in professional roles or senior management are least interested in a low cost carrier like Ryanair. Finally, Kuwaiti’s travelling to Europe to experience leisure or visit relatives and friends are likely to fly Ryanair for its low cost. However, business people were least interested in using a low cost carrier like Ryanair, despite the fact that it would save their organization money. Clients who are concerned about the environment could elect to fly low cost carriers since the reduced weight of the plane leads to a reduction in fuel used by the plane (Shaw 38). These airlines also offer a fairly simpler scheme for fares, for example, charging tickets for one way at half the price of round trips. This encourages clients to choose it. Since these carriers fly to less congested and smaller secondary airports during off-peak hours to avoid delays by traffic, they offer an advantage to the client who wants to arrive at a destination away from the airport faster. Additionally, clients who book these flights in advance pay almost no ticket fare, i.e. less than the costs at the airport (Shaw 39). Some low cost carriers also have non-stop services to all major ports in the world from smaller airports in their vicinity. Planes land quite some distance from the town, so the airport costs are low. Travelling by bus or train to the town does not cost anything more than 10 euro across most cities. Tickets are also available online, which eliminates taxes for the customer. More precisely, low cost tickets could cost a customer approximately 40 euro rather than the 200-euro range normally charged by other airlines to and from Europe. Seats on low cost carriers are not assigned; therefore, the client can choose any seat if they arrive early. In the Middle Eastern region, most fliers prefer to fly FlyDubai, Jazeera Airways, and Air Arabia, serving eighty destinations, including European cities, as well as operating over one thousand destinations among them (Shaw 50). Air Arabia was the first established in 2003 and only had six destinations when it started. Jazeera Airways was established in the year 2004 as the first airline not owned by the government. In 2009, FlyDubai was launched and began to offer product segmentation as in most European carriers. This has seen it emerge as the largest low cost carrier in the Middle East, including Kuwait. The market is ripe for an increasingly efficient, low cost carrier with increased differentiation, and thus, Ryanair has a chance of gaining a foothold in the country and region. The emergence of other carriers that are not afraid to institute product differentiation will be widely appreciated in the Middle Eastern market, although the lack of secondary airports will hinder their low cost measures. However, the fact that Ryanair is a European carrier may not pan out too positively for them, unless they institute a more Arabic look. This will especially be used against them if their competitors use this as a promotional tool aimed at the market base. Ryanair could manage its brand image in the segment most interested in its flights by assuring quality service. By doing this, Ryanair can satisfy both external and internal marketing environments and customers. The competition in the LCC industry has picked up in the Middle East, and Kuwait has not been left behind. Total quality management can be defined as a management philosophy that aims to achieve customer satisfaction via improving all the processes in the organization continuously (Shaw 67). This philosophy is client-oriented so Ryanair’s operations must be developed towards a steady improvement in operations across hierarchical and functional boundaries. To apply this in Kuwait, Ryanair’s management must agree that a transformation is required for the quality of services and operations that will be offered in Kuwait. Furthermore, they should participate in all the improvement activities, value all the opinions offered, and provide a TQM of services and operations that will satisfy its customers. Works Cited Shaw, Stephen. Airline Marketing and Management. Aldershot : Ashgate, 2012. Print. Read More