Unit 11.1        Essay Preview

Look at this examination question about the aviation industry. The student has structured their answer well, but some of the words here don’t fit in with the academic style of the rest. First of all, think for yourself of a more academic way of saying it - then, you can double-click on the words to find a more academic word from the generator. 

Evaluate the contribution of ONE entrepreneur to the development of the aviation industry

Ryanair is one of aviation’s outstanding success stories over the last 20 years and, as such, has reached the position in society of a model for dozens of other budget airlines around the world. Also, its CEO, Michael O’Leary, has become one of the best-known managers, both through his success and his individual style.

It could be argued that Ryanair’s success derives largely from being in the right place at the right time. The economic growth and increasing mobility of its domestic population, together with European expansion and taking away government control created ideal conditions for the growth of a budget airline. However, the fact that other budget airlines have failed shows this line of argument to be seriously wrong. It’s generally agreed that the biggest reason for Ryanair’s success has been O’Leary’s ability to focus on the essentials – driving down costs by getting rid of unnecessary services, including a business class and by using low-cost airports. O’Leary realised that as for short-haul flights, as long as comfort levels were ok, customers would easily give up 'extras' – such as food, window shades, seat-back pockets – if this meant they could reach their main goal -  air travel at an affordable price. From an operational way of looking at things, this focus on the essentials led to substantial standardisation – focusing, for instance, on a single model of aircraft for the entire fleet.

O’Leary has put into practice his vision of a low-cost airline with admirable consistency over the last 15 years. By any fair and balanced standards, his success has been extraordinary. This is proved by regular growth figures of 25 % in passenger numbers over the last decade. In fact, within Europe, Ryanair’s passenger numbers are much bigger than those of more traditional airlines such as British Airways. 

Generally speaking, other low-cost airlines have learnt a good deal from O’Reilly’s success in focusing on the basics. However, it’s possible to take a middle or even critical position on other aspects of Ryanair’s operations. Ryanair’s policy of keeping all its marketing activities in-house has not become a model for other airlines, for instance, who believe that advertising agencies have better expertise in this area. And another thing, Ryanair’s practice of receiving subsidies from regional airports has been ruled illegal by the European Commission and the bad publicity and heavy fines which have resulted may have cancelled out any benefits which Ryanair received from the arrangements.

To sum up, O’Leary, to a large degree, invented the modern concept of the low-cost airline in Europe. Every other airline has been affected by his innovations. However, if there is one thing which prevents other airlines from putting into practice the ‘Ryanair’ model, it’s this: they don’t have O’Leary.

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