What Flying Budget Airlines Taught Me About Business Values

Recently, I flew with both easyJet and Ryanair, and the contrast in customer service was unmistakable. While both airlines offer low-cost travel, only one seemed to care how I felt during the journey.

That difference got me thinking not just as a passenger, but as a business person. Why did it matter so much? And what does it reveal about how values shape business success?

Let’s unpack it.

1. Values Create Experiences

Whether you're boarding a plane or building a product, your company’s core values shape the user experience.

• easyJet appears to value respect, accessibility, and reliability and it shows. Staff are friendlier. Processes are clearer. Problems feel manageable.

• Ryanair, on the other hand, prioritises cost above all else. Service feels transactional. Rules are rigid. Mistakes are penalised.

If your business values efficiency over empathy, your customers will feel it and so will your team.

2. Values Influence Culture and Culture Drives Performance

Staff behaviour is a mirror of company culture. A business that values people invests in training, empowers employees, and fosters loyalty.

In my experience:

• easyJet staff seemed motivated to help, even under pressure.

• Ryanair staff felt like they were surviving a shift, not representing a brand.

For leaders, this is crucial. If your team doesn't internalise your values, neither will your customers. And culture isn’t built by accident it’s built by design.

3. Values Inform Decision-Making

A values-driven business makes consistent, aligned decisions even under pressure.

For example:

• How much flexibility do you give a customer who’s made a mistake?

• Do you charge hidden fees, or are you transparent about pricing?

• When cutting costs, do you protect people or profits first?

These questions are especially important to business leaders, because your values show up when margins are thin and decisions get hard.

4. Emotional Impact Drives Loyalty

People remember how you made them feel not just what you charged.

I’ll be honest; I’d rather pay a few pounds more for easyJet because I felt respected. That emotional aftertaste matters more than a marketing campaign.

If you're in business, remember:

• Loyalty is emotional.

• Word-of-mouth is emotional.

• Brand reputation is emotional.

• And your values? They shape all of it.

Why This Matters to Business People

As a business person, your values are not just statements on a wall. They’re operational principles. They determine:

• How you treat customers.

• How your team behaves.

• What you compromise on (and what you don’t).

In a crowded market, values are the only real differentiator. Anyone can compete on price. Not everyone can compete on trust, care, or integrity.

easyJet and Ryanair are both successful. But they’ve built success on very different values and those values ripple through every part of the customer journey.

If you're building a business, ask yourself:

"What do we stand for and how would our customers know?"

Because in the end, values aren’t just what you say.

They’re what your customers feel.