Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary is better known for trashing his budget airline’s competition than imitating it. His latest brainchild, though, could leave O’Leary eating his words.
Ryanair announced on Monday that it was launching its own “Prime” subscription service for frequent fliers, drawing inspiration from Amazon’s namesake premium membership model.
Frequent flyers—defined as those taking more than 12 trips a year with Ryanair—will benefit from free reserved seats, free travel insurance, and exclusive access to 12 monthly seat sales across the year, all for an annual fee of £79 ($102).
The airline has limited the deal to 250,000 flyers on a first-come, first-served basis. Those who do snap up the deal could be in line to save up to £420 a year, while those who fly three times with their Prime membership could save £105, both minus the cost of the £79 subscription.
“If you like flying regularly while also saving money, then Ryanair ‘Prime’ is a no-brainer,” said Ryanair’s chief marketing officer, Dara Brady.
Ryanair’s inspiration appears to extend beyond Amazon.
In August last year, Hungarian carrier Wizz Air launched an All You Can Fly offer that allowed buyers to book unlimited flights for a fee of €499 ($539) a year.
Stipulations to the deal reduced its appeal, the most important being that passengers could only book flights within 72 hours of departure. There is also a booking fee of €10.50 per flight in addition to the subscription charge.
Nevertheless, the offer proved incredibly popular, selling out “almost immediately,” according to Wizz’s corporate and ESG officer, Yvonne Moynihan.
When asked about the deal on the Irish radio station Newstalk, Ryanair’s O’Leary dismissed the offer as “a bit of a marketing scam.”
“Most of the flights will be full, there’ll be no seat availability. It’s an interesting marketing stunt, but that’s all it is,” said O’Leary.
His comments drew the ire of Wizz Air, sparking a row between execs at the two airlines.
“The comments of Mr. O’Leary were not only provocative but they were also inaccurate,” Wizz’s Moynihan said.
Ryanair’s new promotion now leaves O’Leary exposed to accusations of hypocrisy. On its face, both companies have rolled out a subscription deal that only pays off the more passengers use the airline’s services.
A representative for Ryanair declined to comment further on Monday’s announcement.
In O’Leary’s defense, Ryanair’s deal costs far less than Wizz Air’s, and allows customers more opportunity to save on common travel expenses like luggage and insurance.
Ryanair’s deal also doesn’t center on a time-constrained window in which passengers can book flights, though it remains to be seen how generous the monthly seat sales will be for subscribers. And many more customers can benefit from Ryanair’s deal than Wizz’s, which only sold an initial 10,000 subscriptions to passengers before being closed.
In Wizz Air customers’ favor, meanwhile, is a likely higher ceiling for potential savings when using its services, particularly given the higher price of last-minute deals.
Ultimately, flyers will make up their own minds about which deal makes the most sense in terms of their finances and travel habits. And while O’Leary may be accused of pushing his own marketing stunt, given his propensity for publicity at all costs, it’s unlikely he will care about any signs of inconsistency in his messaging.
