Ryanair has discontinued its £79 Prime subscription loyalty scheme for new members after revealing significant financial losses. The airline reported that it paid out £5.26 million in discounts while only collecting £3.86 million in membership fees from approximately 55,000 subscribers.
Launched in March 2023, the Prime scheme offered benefits such as free reserved seats, complimentary travel insurance, and access to exclusive seat sales. Ryanair had promoted the subscription as a way for frequent flyers to save up to £420 annually, exceeding the cost of membership. Initially, the scheme was limited to 250,000 members on a first-come, first-served basis but fell short of this target.
Financial Struggles of the Prime Scheme
In a statement, Dara Brady, Ryanair’s chief marketing officer, acknowledged the challenges faced by the programme. “To date, we have signed up over 55,000 Prime members, generating over €4.4 million (£3.86 million) in subscription fees,” he noted. However, he pointed out that the discounts provided to members amounted to over €6 million (£5.26 million), indicating a substantial loss for the airline.
Brady expressed gratitude to the existing members, assuring them of continued exclusive low fare offers until October 2024. “This level of memberships, or subscription revenue does not justify the time and effort it takes to launch monthly exclusive Prime seat sales for our 55,000 Prime members,” he explained.
Despite the setback, Ryanair plans to focus on its core mission of providing the lowest fares in Europe for all customers. The airline recorded over 207 million passengers in the current year, demonstrating its commitment to maintaining a broad customer base rather than catering to a select group of subscribers.
New Digital Boarding Pass Policy
In addition to the discontinuation of the Prime scheme, Ryanair is introducing a new policy that requires passengers to use digital boarding passes exclusively. Starting from November 12, 2023, travellers will no longer have the option to download and print paper boarding passes. Instead, they must utilize the digital boarding pass available through the “myRyanair” app on their smartphones or tablets during the check-in process.
This shift to digital-only boarding passes reflects Ryanair’s ongoing efforts to streamline operations and enhance customer convenience. As the airline continues to adapt to the evolving travel landscape, it remains focused on delivering affordable air travel options to its millions of passengers.
