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RYANAIR HAS ANNOUNCED a new subscription service allowing customers reserved seating, travel insurance and exclusive access to some seating.
The €79 annual ‘Prime’ membership will be available for the first 250,000 customers who sign up, netting the airline a maximum of €19.7 million a year if the service proves attractive.
The scheme also allows access to a monthly offer where members will be offered exclusive seat sales for flights.
Such subscription models have been deployed by rival airlines in recent years, getting customers to pay a flat fee in return for discounts.
Ryanair estimates that members who fly three times per year will save €105, which it adds would amount to more than the €79 cost of becoming a Prime member.
Ryanair marketing director Dara Brady said it was aimed at customers who “like flying regularly while also saving money”, adding that it will deliver “savings of €420 for members who fly 12 times per year”.
The subscription service will be open on a first come-first served basis before closing after it reaches the quarter of a million mark.
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A great incentive for frequent flyers. Well done Ryanair.
@Trish: Absolutely. Ryan Air is a life line off this island, for businesses, family and just to enjoy life outside the misery.
@Phose: too true!!!
@Phose: you need to take a long, hard look at your life if you think it’s just ‘misery’!
Ryan air are excellent. If you get hit by ‘hidden’ charges then you simply weren’t paying attention.
Ryanair : Carrying moaners & begrudgers since 1985 … and still they come. Welcome aboard.
Seems reasonable. Takes a lot of flak but I never had any problems with RyanAir. An Irish success story, true.
Booked a summer holiday with Ryanair ..choosing the Family Plus option as it’s handy for the baggage end of things…When choosing our seats…it says seats included…However any seats we picked incurred an extra fee..ranging from 3 Euro to 12.50…. So seats not included as indicated…Anyone else encountered this?
@Rory Murphy: it shows quite clearly in the app what seats are included with your ticket.
@Fiona Applebee: Yes..it shows the seats..But as I alluded to…when I choose a seat it costs money..no matter which seat I chose!… So it doesn’t show quite clearly in the app.
Sounds like a scam. People would be mad to subscribe. Ryanair takes in over €19 million with just a potential minor saving for frequent flyers only using that carrier.
Ryanair are the best, I don’t understand why people give them so much sh*t. I used to travel frequently from Gatwick and Cork, which would cost me no more than 50 quid a few years ago, and that’s including rail fare from Portsmouth.
Frequent Business Travelers! what are the chances you get stuck beside a screaming child
@Andy Paralegal: what? Like on the comments?
Thinking of launching subscription service for myself. Seems to be the model they’re all pursuing now.
In fairness Ryanair have shown us lots of places to avoid in future vacations. Anyone heading to Budapest this weekend?
Has Amazon given the name the ok?
Hopefully they ‘Avios’ up
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