Understanding strategic management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Understanding strategic management - Essay Example h of the global airlines and predicts $560 billion in its revenue with the net profits of about $8.9 billion, the European air sector is expected to have loss of $1.3 billion (IATA, 2010). In particular, the number of the UK airports’ passengers has fallen by 7.3% - the biggest fall in the overall history of records (Milmo, 2010). In spite of the all-European negative trend, the Ryanair’s business has been stable and strong – today the company reports about the growth in profits in â‚ ¬ 318.8 million over 2010 (RAa, 2010). As it is claimed in the Ryanair Annual Report 2010: â€Å"All the key indicators including traffic growth, market share, unit costs, profits, new route and base development, confirm that Ryanair continues to successfully roll out our unique low fares formula across Europe for the benefit of our passengers, our people and our shareholders† (RAa, 2010, p.6). However, one cannot but admit that the competitive environment of the global airline industry is changing dramatically, entailing challenges for even successful businesses. In order to respond appropriately to these emerging challenges, companies should constantly analyse, evaluate and formulate anew their strategies. The history of Ryanair began in 1985, when the company launched the first short daily route from Waterford in the Ireland to London Gatwick, pioneering the low-fares flight’s operating model in Europe. Thanks to a number of reasonable strategic decisions and changes provided by the company’s executives, the Ryanair have managed to strengthen market position enormously. Today Ryanair Limited is the largest and top-ranked low cost (or no-frills) airline company at the European passenger airline market. It serves low-fares, point-to-point routes from the so called â€Å"Ryanair’s bases of operations† consisting of about 40 airports in Ireland, the UK, Continental Europe and Morocco (RAa, p. 53). Table in Appendix A exhibits statistics of the Ryanair operational performance