Ryanair ends prime membership scheme after one point six million euro loss

Ryanair has terminated its short-lived Prime membership scheme following losses amounting to 1.6 million euros. The low-cost airline launched the initiative eight months ago, aiming to attract regular travellers with the promise of significant fare savings. Despite more than 55 thousand members signing up, generating over 4.4 million euros in subscription income, the scheme ultimately proved unviable due to excessive fare discounts claimed by customers.

The Prime membership was priced at £79 per year in the United Kingdom, offering frequent flyers up to £420 in potential annual savings on reserved seating and exclusive offers. However, fare discounts redeemed totalled 6 million euros, exceeding the revenue from membership fees and rendering the programme unsustainable from a financial perspective.

Ryanair’s Chief Marketing Officer, Dara Brady, explained that although customer demand for a members’ programme had been strong, the scale of uptake and the extent of discounts provided did not justify the resources required to maintain the scheme. Exclusive sales and dedicated seat allocation for Prime members required significant operational effort, which could not be offset by the number of subscribers or the income received.

New memberships have been halted immediately following the decision. Existing Prime members will continue to receive their fare discounts until the closure of the programme, scheduled for October next year.

This move comes at a time of robust financial performance for Ryanair. The airline recently reported a 42 percent rise in profits, reaching 2.54 billion euros for the half year to the end of September, driven by a 13 percent increase in ticket prices during the peak travel seasons. Traffic forecasts for the full year to March have also been raised, with expected passenger numbers rising from 206 million to 207 million.