Ryanair has abruptly discontinued its £79 annual subscription loyalty scheme, known as “Prime,” after reporting significant losses. The airline revealed that it spent £5.26 million on discounts while only collecting £3.86 million from approximately 55,000 members since its launch in March 2023.
The Prime subscription was designed to attract frequent flyers by offering benefits such as free reserved seats, complimentary travel insurance, and access to 12 annual exclusive seat sales. Ryanair had projected that members taking a dozen flights annually could save up to £420, making the scheme appealing to budget-conscious travelers.
Initially, Ryanair planned to limit the program to 250,000 members on a first-come, first-served basis. However, the lukewarm response led to the decision to close the scheme to new registrations. According to Dara Brady, Ryanair’s Chief Marketing Officer, the trial has not met financial expectations. He stated, “To date, we have signed up over 55,000 Prime members, generating over €4.4 million (£3.86 million) in subscription fees. However, our Prime members have received over €6 million (£5.26 million) in fare discounts, so this trial has cost more money than it generates.”
Existing Prime members will continue to receive exclusive offers until October 2024, but no new members will be accepted moving forward. Brady emphasized the airline’s commitment to providing low fares to all customers, stating, “With over 207 million passengers this year, Ryanair will continue to focus on delivering the lowest fares in Europe to all our customers, and not this subset of 55,000 Prime members.”
In addition to ending the loyalty scheme, Ryanair has announced a new policy requiring passengers to utilize digital boarding passes exclusively. Starting from November 12, 2023, travelers will no longer be able to download and print physical boarding passes. Instead, they must use the digital pass available through the myRyanair app during the check-in process.
The changes reflect Ryanair’s ongoing efforts to streamline operations and adapt to evolving customer preferences in a competitive airline market. As the budget airline navigates these challenges, it remains focused on offering affordable travel options to a broad customer base.
