Case study ( subject accounting theory) Assignment

Case study ( subject accounting theory) - Assignment Example The company shareholders had been complaining of airline’s image and share prices have faced a slowdown. The profits also have declined and for the second consecutive time. Problem 1: Hidden fees Ryanair required its passengers to check in online for boarding and arrive at the airport with the boarding pass. If the passenger failed to do so, he or she would have had to pay a fine of â‚ ¬70. A reissue of boarding pass invites a charge of â‚ ¬70 (Pope, â€Å"Is this the advent of a new caring, sharing Ryanair?†). Another issue with hidden fees is with the baggage standard norms and charges associated with it. Ryanair has been famous for having one of the strictest baggage allowances in Europe. The airline allows a baggage size of 55cm x 40cm x 20cm which is even smaller that what IATA standardizes as baggage allowance. Also, the airline charged a pretty high sum of â‚ ¬60 at the bag drop counters and boarding gate. Measures taken The charge for not checking in on line remains unchanged. The argument put forward by Ryanair is that if a passenger can come forth with his passport, he can check in online as well. This is one criticism that the company refuses to accept. They deny that the hidden charges are hampering company’s brand image and need to be tackled. ... Company chief says that they are actively participating in improvising on customer service and actively listening and responding. As a part of the initial steps towards better customer service, the company has reduced these charges to â‚ ¬30 at the bag drop counters and â‚ ¬50 at the boarding gate. The company also plans to put an end to hefty fines on baggage’s that weigh a little heavier or are just slightly larger. It also announced an allowance of a second carry in baggage that shall be limited by the measure of 35 x 20 x 20cm over and above the pre-existing 10 kg baggage allowance (â€Å"Ryanair Rolls Out More Customer Service Improvements†). Analysis The reasons provided for impositions for not checking online are unreasonable. People might not accept the reason that checking online is as cultural as carrying a passport while taking a flight. Technology has made online access easier. It shall be a matter of time until people get used to the idea of boarding online. Moreover, not all airlines view online check-in likewise. Until then, hefty fines on not checking in online is detrimental to company image. Strict rules on baggage size have been detrimental to company’s brand image. Complains have gone unheard over slight mismatches in size inviting heavy fine impositions. Such brand reputation goes a long way in bringing down customer count, word of mouth reputation spreads stronger and faster for factors that are unacceptable by consumers. In this view, small improvements in baggage allowances shall be welcomed but the change in consumer perception shall take long to change unless the fuss over extra handle size or extra wheels are not eliminated.