Ryanair is closing its new frequent flyers club just eight months after launch, saying passengers took such extensive advantage of its perks that the programme became loss-making.
The budget airline confirmed the decision on Friday, ending its Prime membership scheme, which offered discounted flights, free reserved seating on up to 12 journeys a year and bundled travel insurance.
According to Ryanair, around 55,000 passengers signed up to Prime, generating €4.4m (£3.5m) in subscription fees. However, members received more than €6m in benefits, making the scheme financially unsustainable.
Dara Brady, the airline’s chief marketing officer, admitted the trial had not worked as hoped, saying: “This trial has cost more money than it generates. This level of membership, 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.”
The airline said it would now revert to offering special discounts and sales “to all our customers, and not this subset of 55,000 Prime members”.
Launched in February, Prime cost £79 or €79 a year for customers in the UK and EU. With reserved seat prices ranging from £4.50 to £38, frequent flyers making use of all 12 eligible flights could have saved between £54 and £456 – sometimes the equivalent of several Ryanair fares.
Membership operated on a 12-month rolling basis with automatic renewal each February. Ryanair confirmed that all existing members will continue to receive “exclusive low fare offers until October 2026”, but no new members will be accepted after 28 November.
“We are grateful to our 55,000 Prime members who signed up to this Prime trial over the last eight months, and they can rest assured that they will continue to enjoy exclusive flight and seat savings for the remainder of their 12-month membership,” the airline said.
Ryanair, which flies more than 207 million passengers a year, has long positioned low fares as its core offering. However, the airline has increasingly relied on ancillary revenue streams such as seat selection fees and baggage charges — practices that were rare in the industry two decades ago.
It became the first airline to introduce charges for checked-in bags in 2006 and brought in check-in fees in 2009 for passengers who failed to print boarding passes before arrival at the airport. Earlier this year, Ryanair increased bonuses for airport staff for each oversized cabin bag they take off passengers, with travellers charged up to £75 if their hand luggage exceeds the permitted dimensions.
