Social Networks & Flyin' RyanAir

My previous post discussed the importance of cheap-to-free networks and it brings me to the unglamorized miracle of Ryan Air, Europe's increasingly popular, excessively frill-free airline.

If you don't know their story already, Ryan offers incredibly cheap, crammed flights all over Europe. When Rick and I used them last month charge about half the price to fly from London to Dublin (with taxes about $30) than it does to take a bus from Boston to New York City. You pay for everything that is not your seat--checking luggage, a cup of water.  They are sort of a flying WalMart selling all sorts of stuff in air, such as bus tickets into the destination city, they have scratch card lotteries, so the airline does just fine economically.

But the point of it is you can get from Point A to Point B cheaply and this opens up opportunities and markets that previously did not exist. When Rick and I endured the long and noisy line to check in to Dublin, we noticed that more than 50 of the passengers wer teenage girls and that they had packed their lunches and were being guided by adults that we assumed were teachers.

Was this a day trip to a London Art or History Museum? We never asked but the point was clear.  An airline is a low cost network that is allowing people all over Europe to meet each other, to see and understand neighboring cultures, to buy and sell in each other's markets more today than was possible yesterday.

And it is a part of social networking that really, really matters, because with all our blogging and videocasting, podcasting and Flickring.  Despite the power of MySpace and Bebo, Skype and the rest--there remains nothing like a face-to-face meeting, and RyanAir really delivers.

Comments

[Katie]

As a student who spent a year studying in Europe, I can testify to the appeal of low-cost airliners like RyanAir and EasyJet. Without their reasonable prices, I would not have been able to do half the travel I've done. Besides, after traveling a lot on British Airways and being completely unimpressed with their service (long line for check-in, bad food, uncomfortable seats, few options for in-flight entertainment unorganized airline, etc), I think that the low-cost airlines have a huge competitive advantage. Who really likes airline food anyways? And I usually hate the seat I'm assigned, with the low-cost airlines, I get to choose my seat (the quality depending only on how early I get to the airport). I'd rather pay a lot less on my flight and enjoy my destination that much more.

[Walter]

A similar phenomenon is happening in Singapore and South East Asia too, with many low cost carriers like Tiger Airways, Air Asia, and Jetstar making our skies cheaper to travel in. I can't agree with you more that nothing beats a face-to-face meeting, and in an asian context, this becomes especially important. Traditionally, most businesses are done over a meal or a drink here, though increasingly e-commerce has caught on (though not in a big way).

By the way, I am currently about 2/3rds through your book Shel and am lovin' it.
:-)

[Gary Potter]

So Shel, how long will it take for Americans to embrace this business model? Three years, five years - we're so spoiled we even grouse at the idea of not getting a free lunch. No wonder airlines are running on such razor thin margins.

[Dillon Thomas]

I agree. Ryanair has bridged gaps between countries allowing people to travel and network freely and cheaply in Europe. Imagine if they gain control of Aer Lingus. In 5-6 years we could be flying to the states for $100 further expanding the social and market network. My only worry with all these cheap flights is global warming.