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The Best Ryanair Marketing Stunts

Published September 22, 2013

Ryanair has seen itself in the headlines on so many occasions for negative publicity that many would be forgiven for wondering why they have not gone under. But, a closer look at the practices of one of Europe’s top budget airlines, reveals the absolute genius of CEO Michael O’Leary as an expert free marketing strategist.

Negative Commentary Sells on the Back of Social Media Pundits

Ryanair standing seats

Publicity stunt or a valid alternative to regular seats? How the vertical airline seats might look.

The 52 year old CEO of Ryanair has managed to ride on the back of busy social media platforms hosting negative comments and banter about his airline and the so-called ludicrous lengths they will go to attract attention. Michael O’Leary goes on record as saying “As long as we generate bookings then we welcome them just as much as positive coverage” when referring to negative media coverage of some of his seemingly absurd proposals to drive down budget airline prices. The free marketing guru has never employed anything close to a marketing agency, branding them as “rubbish” and “useless” exclaiming that he is good enough at driving sales to his highly successful airline without the need for the “same old crap” they offer other companies. With 29 years in the business, all of the negative hype around the man himself has not damaged Ryanair sales in the slightest.

Standing Room Only

The summer of 2010 saw the media up in arms as Mr O’Leary declared he hopes to see testing approve his idea of standing room only positions (vertical seats) for as little as £4. Whilst the media and industry experts alike argue the toss over how impossible his proposal was, Ryanair ticket sales continued to grow. Who’s fooling who? Just create a media Tsunami and allow it to annihilate the competition while most remain oblivious to its effect.

Spending a Penny, How about a Pound?

The absolute genius of the approach was that another proposition, considered equally as preposterous, was earmarked as the way that the ultra-low cost vertical seats would be funded. Charging £1 to those wanting to use the toilet was planned as how the new idea would be paid for, and although these vertical seats never materialised, Ryanair resulted in being ever more popular, not less. One can only commend the marketing prowess of Michael O’Leary for daring to buck the trend and apply ingenious strategies that work.

Flying with one pilot

It was just an idea – but would you feel comfortable flying with only one pilot on board? (image Copyright)

This is Your Captain Speaking, Oh and the Co-Pilot!

Another amazing stunt that was used to further brew up a considerable furore was the plan to man passenger aircrafts with just one pilot. Industry experts knew that it was unlikely to happen but the media jumped on it like the latest scandal. Even though the associated risk factors combined with minimal savings compared to the additional expense to implement, more or less doomed the proposal from the start for passenger aircraft, the media still reacted as though he really intended to do this. Once again, a clever stunt that cost Ryanair nothing to implement but brought with it interest in his airline greater than any flash branding consultants could muster. These amazing free marketing stunts are clear evidence that Michael O’Leary is a pioneer of his time within the aviation industry. He has even gone as far as announcing plans to allow others to advertise on his aircraft by selling ad space on his fleet.

Image credit: Hasegawa Takashi

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