This is Matt Reustle and today we are breaking down Europe's largest airline, Ryanair. As we do more breakdowns, we start to look for patterns of successful business models that succeed across different industries. Ryanair is another case study in low-cost shared economies of scale. To break down Ryanair, I'm joined by Holland Advisors’ founder and portfolio manager, Andrew Hollingworth.

On this episode, we talk about what makes airlines such a difficult industry for investors, how CEO Michael O'Leary has taken a truly unique approach to building this business, and how to frame cyclical versus secular dynamics in the airline market. 

Now, one quick note before we transition to the episode. You'll hear Andrew and I talk about O'Leary's unique PR approach with shareholders, the union, and pretty much anyone that he deals with. If you're interested in that type of dark arts of communication and media, make sure to check out our newest show at Colossus, Making Media. It operates as an ongoing Business Breakdown of our own business, Colossus, and we spend a lot of time studying the world of communications and media more broadly. You'll find a link to that series in our show notes. Make sure to subscribe. 

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. 

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Show Notes

[00:03:12] - [First question] - Why airlines have such a bad reputation with investors 

[00:04:20] - An overview of Ryanair and its size and scale today 

[00:05:43] - Unique characteristics about Ryanair’s business model that distinguishes them from their competitors

[00:09:10] - What keeps customers coming back to Ryanair

[00:10:49] - What else stands out about Michael O’Leary that is key to Ryanair’s success

[00:12:16] - Michael O’Leary: Turbulent Times for the Man Who Made Ryanair

[00:14:22] - How Ryanair’s business model has evolved against cycles and opportunities

[00:19:29] - What else goes into their cheap seat cost structure 

[00:23:10] - Approaching labor in light of a unionized industry and workforce 

[00:28:07] - The cyclicality of margins and how theirs look compared to their competitors

[00:33:47] - Interesting data on airplane utilization and dynamic pricing  

[00:36:40] - What’s contributing to the lack of growth at easyJet 

[00:42:37] - The risks to Ryanair’s growth as a shareholder  

[00:44:00] - Industry responses to cycles and recessionary environments 

[00:46:31] - The main takeaways from Ryanair that could be applied elsewhere