Preparation before traveling: Can I fly with one euro?

Can I fly with one euro before traveling?

One euro to fly?! And it’s between different countries in Europe. This is not a joke, But reality.

This is the website of Irish airline Ryanair on January 4, 2005. It flies from Dublin, the capital of Ireland, to 25 airports in Europe, all with special fares of one euro. Of course, This kind of one-yuan ticket has restrictions. First of all, there is a limit on the quantity. In addition, there are also restrictions on time. It is usually not on weekends or peak season. The time is usually before 9 a.m. and after 6 p.m.

Studying in Ireland During this period, I enjoyed similar low fares many times. I flew from Dublin to LUTON Airport in London, the capital of the United Kingdom, many times. Even if I didn't get a lucky fare of one euro, the round trip usually did not exceed 70 euros. From It takes about one hour by bus from LUTON to downtown London. Passengers holding Ryanair tickets can also get price discounts. For most business passengers in the UK and Ireland, Ryanair is their first choice for traveling through Europe.

There is no doubt that Ryanair’s competitive advantage is low cost. In fact, Ryanair’s ticket prices are generally at least 70% lower than those of the airline giants, and compared with the same low-fare airlines such as EasyJet and Go There are still obvious advantages.

In discussing corporate competitive strategy, Michael Porter mentioned three methods to obtain competitive advantage: process improvement (process enhancement), low cost and differentiation. Obviously, low cost It is one of the important means to obtain competitive advantage. Most contemporary management scholars have dismissed the study of low-cost strategies and turned to the study of new competitive advantages. Indeed, in the market competition of the 21st century, globalization, OEM, and Qualitative and other factors make it difficult to achieve cost advantage. However, what should not be ignored is that all competition is based on cost, even today.

How did Ryanair achieve cost advantage?

* Use electronic tickets, order online or by phone. Passengers do not need to pick up tickets, just print out the booking confirmation page. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a printer, because your passport number and name are registered when booking, and you can check-in at the airport When booking, as long as you show your passport, the staff can check your information on the computer.

But once the reservation is made, it is more difficult to modify it. As mentioned above, the one-yuan ticket is not allowed to be modified, and other discounts Although the ticket can be changed, a handling fee will be charged, and the change can only be made by calling an extra-charged phone number.

* Using the Boeing 737-800 fuel-efficient unified aircraft model, which greatly reduces maintenance and Training cost.

* Instead of using expensive large international airports, use relatively cheap small and medium-sized airports

* Use regional point-to-point direct flights without providing transfer services

* Employee salaries are assessed based on effectiveness rather than annual merit

* Extremely high passenger and cargo turnover rate

* No seat numbers, which greatly reduces the time for passengers to find seats Waiting time

* Go for luxurious ground and in-flight services. The ground lounge service is simple and practical, not luxurious; there are no free newspapers on board, and there is no free meal service (most routes have air time Within 2 hours), there is not even free drinking water. If you need these services, there are additional charges. Most flights do not have first class and business class, and there are no mileage points activities

* Less free baggage allowance . The reduction in baggage weight brings about a reduction in fuel consumption.

This is the source of Ryanair’s low-cost advantage. In fact, Ryanair is not the first low-cost airline (Budget Airline) in the world. It was established in 1985 after learning from the experience of Southwest Airlines, a successful regional low-cost airline in the United States. However, Ryanair has made the Southwest model more thorough and perfect.

Watch at low cost

It seems easy to imitate, but in fact it requires superb management art and precise financial calculations. Dell Computer is another example often mentioned in management textbooks. Dell's direct sales model can be imitated, but Dell's supply chain management is not easy to imitate. .

Today, the concept of service marketing is prevalent in the world. There seems to be a misunderstanding here, which is a sentence we often hear: "Winning customers with high-quality services?" It is true that high-quality services will definitely improve sales. Customer satisfaction. However, as an effective marketing, we not only need to emphasize high-quality services, but also need to emphasize reasonable costs and appropriate services based on core needs.

Ryanair has firmly grasped the regional short-haul The core needs of passengers: low prices, safe and convenient travel, while abandoning other non-core and non-essential needs, such as large and comfortable seats, the supply of music, film, television and newspapers, delicious meals, etc.

Ruian The case of the airline has been widely studied by Western management circles. The case writer, Ms. Irina Hingis, professor of strategic management at the Smurfit Business School of the National University of Ireland, won the European Best Case Award.

After research, we found that Ryanair’s success is the comprehensive use of all three methods of Porter’s competitive advantage. Needless to say low cost, reducing unnecessary waiting time and improving turnover rate rely on process Improvements; reducing unnecessary services and choosing non-mainstream airports are looking for service differentiation from another perspective.

In fact, not only the air transport industry can also start from reasonable costs and core needs To gain competitive advantage through moderate services, other industries can also draw inspiration and reference from it. For example, the consumer electronics market represented by mobile phones now has large sales, rapid growth, and many brands. Many mobile phones integrate multiple functions. From camera to voice, it is expensive. But now mobile phones are no longer durable consumer goods. Most consumers replace them with new ones after one year or even half a year. Therefore, many consumers pay more attention to their practical value and price. Therefore, low prices and simple functions There is a strong demand for mobile phone products. This is not only true in the manufacturing industry, but also in the service industry. Many financial and wealth management services are too complex, causing many elderly customers to give up. In fact, as long as they are simplified and the core needs are grasped, this area The market is completely promising.

Service marketing is not just about addition, but sometimes also about subtraction. I solemnly suggest that senior managers of Chinese companies, if they have the opportunity to go to Europe for a business trip, take a Ryanair Take a flight, I believe you will gain more.

For more pre-trip preparation information, please click on the relevant links

If you want to reach the school directly, usually choose the route with the fewest transfer points This is the best, firstly, it can shorten the flight time, and secondly, it also reduces the chance of lost luggage. If someone is available to pick you up after arriving at the destination, the itinerary must be arranged according to the pick-up person's time. If you need to be self-reliant and there is no support staff, arriving in the United States during the daytime from Monday to Friday is the best option. It is also specially recommended that prospective international students who are going abroad for the first time go to the U.S. Information Center to photocopy the map of the arrival airport and the surrounding street map before departure. In addition, check the hotel directory near the airport, which can also be used as a contingency for emergencies. measure.

Hope to have a stopover on the way:

If you do not arrive directly at the school, arrange to travel along the way or visit relatives and friends, and choose an airline that flies to the place where you plan to stay. As a priority, if the international flight cannot directly reach the scheduled airport, it is also necessary to arrange for cooperating airlines in the United States to pick up the passengers, so as to avoid frequent changes of aircraft, causing difficulties in baggage check-in, or insufficient transfer time and missing the flight. phenomenon. In addition, before issuing a ticket, you can discuss the best itinerary with the travel agency that purchased the ticket. Sometimes when there are many domestic stops, you can also save travel expenses by purchasing travel vouchers.

Special note: Confirm your seat:

Three days before departure, you must call the airline to confirm your seat, otherwise your seat may be canceled by the airline because it has not been confirmed. The company automatically cancels, especially during the peak tourist season, so you need to handle it with caution.