Weaknesses: Costumers are very price sensitive and if Ryanair do not provide the cheapest fair the customer will simply switch to a different airline. Ryanair has a reputation in the media for being difficult to deal with on issues of consumer service. Some of the Ryanair staff are seen as arrogant and rude. This can be seen as a weakness. Ryanair’s competition on the other hand have the opportunity to differentiate themselves by providing a better customer service experience. It is difficult to quantify how many customers have been marginalized by Ryanair over the years and refuse to use the airline. Ryanair’s regional airports can be some distance from the city they are servicing. Their competition on the other hand can have the advantage of flying to more convenient locations. Although it is an advantage to Ryanair to fly the one type of aircraft, Boeing, this causes the airline to have few suppliers. Switching costs from one supplier to the other is high because all mechanics and pilots would have to be retrained. Ryanair operates in an industry where it must face many threats however these threats apply to the entire industry and Ryanair are as well placed or indeed better placed to deal with these threats then their competition. Examples of these threats include volcanic ash, terrorist activity and SARS, foot and mouth etc.

2.3 Ryanair - Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
Porter’s Five Forces analytical tool assists in analyzing competitive environment for Ryanair.