Ryanair has become the latest airline to launch a subscription service targeting frequent travellers.
The Dublin-based budget carrier is calling its new service “Prime” and is offering annual membership for £79 in the UK and €79 in Ireland.
Customers who sign up for the new service will gain access to benefits such as free reserved seats, travel insurance for flights and exclusive fare discounts for members every month.
Ryanair’s move comes a few months after another low-cost carrier Wizz Air launched a “premium” membership programme allowing customers to access fare discounts and inflight privileges. Wizz has also created an “All You Can Fly’ scheme for late bookings.
Dara Brady, Ryanair’s chief marketing officer, said: “Ryanair ‘Prime’ is a new subscriber discount scheme for frequent flyers that want to fly regularly but don’t want to break the bank to do so.
“This exciting new subscriber discount scheme is limited to just 250,000 customers on a first come/first served basis.”
Brady said that members who fly at least 12 times per year would benefit from savings of up to £420 annually, while those travelling three times per year would save around £105 from their Prime membership.