A Master of Public Relations

Airlines are terrible businesses.

Air travel is highly regulated, yet nowhere near as essential as healthcare, agriculture, or banking.

Many competitors are government subsidized and, therefore, do not behave as rational economic actors. Yet, when customers see the luxury of such firms, like Etihad or Emirates, they come to expect the same from private enterprise.

What’s an airline executive to do?

The answer lies in the European budget airline, Ryanair. Michael O’Leary spent nearly 3 decades transforming the small Irish company into an enormously successful business.

He’s cut costs with the same ferocity of Henry Ford, Sam Walton, and Jeff Bezos, and his customers get the cheapest flights on the market.

Are there complimentary snacks? No.

Do the seats recline? No way

Can passengers print tickets at the gate? For a fee.

Was Ryanair one of the only profitable airlines in 2020? Yes.

And that discipline has translated into a company culture and public brand that millions of people know and trust.

Learn how to cut costs and steal media headlines in this video about O’Leary 👇

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