Much announced and little or nothing implemented, these words are the best way to describe the “multi-brand strategy” of Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary. With the acquisition of Lauda, ​​they actually wanted to get a second brand into the group that was supposed to appeal to passengers who would never book with Ryanair. In some cases this has even been successful, because even some media occasionally write of “Lauda Air”, although it has not existed for a long time and there is no formal connection.

A “second second brand” was announced very quickly with Malta Air and shortly thereafter, the Polish Ryanair Sun was to appear with its own identity as a “third second brand” from autumn 2019. What Michael O'Leary wanted to achieve with three subbrands alongside Ryanair was a mystery to the industry from the start.

Lauda and Ryanair products were actually different in the first few months. For example, the Mainline paid extra for hand luggage trolleys much earlier and had a completely different range of food and drinks on board. But that has been the end of the 2019/2020 summer flight schedule period, so the products were congruent. Only Lauda flew with the A320 and Ryanair with the Boeing 737-800 and other seats are installed in the planes. But that was it with the differences.

What about Buzz and Malta Air? The cabins are completely identical to those of Ryanair and only differ in the logo on the security cards. So far, Buzz has refrained from using the logo on the safety cards, because the one from Ryanair Sun can still be seen here. By the way: This is still the official name of the company. At Malta Air, a sticker “operated by Malta Air” is attached to the right of the entrance door. Aircraft operated by Buzz and Ryanair UK do not have such a sticker. Most recently, Lauda's identity was finally taken away, because flights are now only flown under FR flight numbers on behalf of Ryanair.

There is the regulatory necessity that the airline carrying out the booking must be referred to, to understand rather jokingly that these are “real Lauda flights”. The same applies to Malta Air, by the way, because here the crews wear Ryanair uniforms. Buzz, on the other hand, has had its own uniform since autumn 2019.

Incidentally, there are several Boeing 737-Max-200s standing around in Renton, which are painted in the colors of Malta Air and Buzz. If these are ever removed, at least the livery could fly around as its own identity. Lauda is currently leading the way and recently with Maltese AOC. The likelihood that Michael O'Leary will actually send the daughters into the race with their own flight number and their own advertising image after the homemade disaster surrounding Lauda is unlikely. For reasons of route law you will do that, for example if you would otherwise not be able to fly to the Nonschengen destination from Poland under the FR code. But a Ryanair Group with a large number of daughters who cook their own soup will most likely not exist under Michael O'Leary. The experiences in connection with Lauda are probably far too deep in the bones, because you lost a lot of money.

The decision to “blow off” the multi-brand strategy should not have been decided “because of Corona”, because in autumn 2019 neither the announced own appearance of Malta Air nor that of Buzz were delivered. The Polish company has still not been given its new name in the commercial register.

Michael O'Leary may not be happy to admit it, but he has made serious mistakes. A multi-brand strategy only makes sense if the products are different and appeal to different target groups. An “Airbus-flying Ryanair with Lauda logo” is simply not enough to tap new customer groups. It makes absolutely no sense to clone Ryanair three times and then again as a Brexit safeguard, and stick other logos on it. You can have everything fly under the established “Ryanair” brand. And it is precisely this knowledge that Michael O'Leary should have now achieved, which is why the multi-brand strategy has obviously been canceled.

But the real purpose of the conglomerate of subsidiaries is probably somewhere completely different. Ryanair can play the daughters against each other and against themselves. It was even possible to enforce a collective agreement in Austria with the threat that Lauda would be locked and Ryanair and other group airlines would take over the flights. Lauda Europe, Malta Air, Buzz and Ryanair DAC are now bustling around in Vienna. Outwardly everything is marketed as Ryanair, whereby it seems particularly obscure that all the logos are shown on screens at the counters. What for? This is confusing for passengers. Incidentally, every crew on board seems to greet them as it suits them, especially at Lauda. This is not surprising, because even if you flew for Air Berlin Wetlease earlier than Niki, you also greeted the Niki flight and often did not mention the parent company. It is obvious that Lauda aircraft look different on the outside and have a cabin on the inside that differs enormously from that of the other group airlines. But: the flight number is FR, the boarding pass says Ryanair and then we're talking about Lauda? The same can happen with Malta Air and Buzz, because depending on the mood, the flight attendant greets you on the “Ryanair flight, operated by Buzz or Malta Air” or on the “Buzz flight” or “Malta Air flight ”. In the case of the Polish subsidiary, the Buzz logo can only be seen on the uniforms of the crews, because on the security cards, which are stuck to the seats just like with Ryanair, you can see Ryanair Sun and a smiling sun.

An announced multi-brand strategy has turned into chaos that is difficult for passengers to see through. They don't have to, because it is enough for the staff to know that if they are not working “more productively”, that they will simply be replaced by the sister company, which is said to be able to produce so much cheaper. If this is then too expensive, the next sister airline comes along. That seems to be the real purpose of the multibrand strategy, because even with the mainline you can get a lot through with the threat of relocating to a subsidiary and terminating everyone. What a promise that a base remains open with Ryanair is worth, can now be seen at Lauda in Düsseldorf. Exactly nothing and it's always the other's fault.