- Mr Plane Guy
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Ryanair Really Did It: Prime Subscription Axed in Less Than a Year
The airline’s bold £79 experiment lasted just eight months and the numbers tell an ugly story.
By Mr Plane Guy | Plane Travel News & Reviews with Altitude
Disclosure: This guide contains affiliate links which help keep this blog flying high (and keep my airport G&Ts flowing). There’s no extra cost to you.
I genuinely didn’t expect this. Ryanair, the airline that charges you to blink, has pulled the plug on its own subscription service after just eight months. Yes, really. Ryanair Prime is already dead.
Launched with big promises of cheaper fares, free seats and bundled travel insurance, Prime was supposed to be Ryanair’s answer to frequent flyer loyalty, without actually being loyal. But behind the scenes, the maths clearly wasn’t mathing.
As of 28 November, Ryanair has confirmed that no new customers can join Prime, quietly ending one of the shortest-lived “loyalty” experiments in airline history. Existing members will keep their perks until their 12-month term expires, but for everyone else? It’s back to strict baggage rules, paid seat selection, and micro-charges for absolutely everything.
And the reason Prime died so fast? Cold. Hard. Numbers.
Before we go further, here’s my original deep-dive into the scheme:
What Was Ryanair Prime Supposed to Be?
Ryanair Prime launched in March 2025 with a clear pitch:
£79 / €79 per year
Monthly members-only flight sales
Free reserved seating on selected flights
Bundled travel insurance
A discounted “Prime companion” add-on
Membership capped at 250,000 people
On paper, it sounded like Ryanair flirting with customer loyalty for the first time in its life.
But in reality, only around 55,000 passengers signed up during the trial period, barely a fifth of what Ryanair expected.
For a carrier that relies on selling seat selection, priority boarding, bags, insurance and everything in between as paid extras, giving those things away cheaply was always a risky gamble.
And that gamble didn’t pay off.
Why Did Ryanair Kill Prime So Quickly?
Ryanair’s Chief Marketing Officer Dara Brady delivered the blunt verdict: Prime “cost more money than it generated.”
Here’s the brutal breakdown from the trial period:
Around €4.4 million generated from subscriptions
Around €6 million given away in flight discounts
Before even counting tech, staffing, marketing and admin
In simple airline terms: Ryanair was losing money before the plane even left the gate.
For a business built on razor-thin margins and ruthless ancillary revenue, Prime was never going to survive those economics.
What Happens If You’re Already a Ryanair Prime Member?
If you’ve already paid for Prime, don’t panic:
✅ Your benefits continue until your annual term expires
✅ No action is required
✅ The final cohort will keep perks until October 2026
Once your 12-month term ends, Prime vanishes permanently, there’s no renewal option.
If you’re flying Ryanair now, these guides are far more valuable than any dead subscription:
Without Prime acting as a safety buffer, one wrong bag or one missed rule can wipe out the value of several “cheap” tickets in seconds.
Check it out HERE
It is so light weight, it has 360 spinning wheels so I can push or pull it around the airport and place my small under- seat bag on top of it. It has a well made lock to keep all my items secure. For the price as well it is excellent quality!
It's also a perfect fit for Ryanair Priority: No worries about your bag arriving separately, as you can keep it with you.
Do Airline Subscription Models Actually Work?
Ryanair’s failure doesn’t mean airline subscriptions are doomed, but it shows they must be simple, predictable, and consistently valuable.
Here’s how rivals compare:
easyJet Plus
£249 per year
Priority boarding
Large cabin bag
Fast-track security at selected airports
Premium seat selection ✅ Works because the value is clear and repeatable
Wizz Air Discount Club
Always-on flight discounts
Discounted baggage
Optional companion ✅ Works because it’s permanent and predictable
Frontier GoWild! Pass (USA)
Flat annual fee
Unlimited base fares
Taxes and extras paid on top ⚠ Works only for ultra-flexible travellers
Ryanair Prime tried to sit somewhere between all three and ended up fitting none.
Prime didn’t fail because subscriptions don’t work.
It failed because Ryanair’s entire business model depends on selling the very things Prime tried to give away.
Airport Lounge Access: Start Your Holiday in Style
Complimentary drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic)
Tasty snacks to keep you going
Wi-Fi to catch up on emails or browse before your flight
Comfortable seating to unwind before takeoff
If you love starting your holiday with a touch of luxury, this alone might make the upgrade worthwhile.
If Ryanair won’t reward loyalty anymore, smart travellers will now look for value outside the airline itself. How about airport lounge access but at a reduced fee? I got you!
Priority Pass is the world's largest independent airport VIP lounge access program, with over 1,800+ lounges in over 600 cities across 148 countries!
Why Packing Smart Matters More Than Ever on Ryanair
With Ryanair’s 40 × 30 × 20 cm free bag limit, it’s not about packing less, it’s about packing smarter. As a former airline performance manager, the first bags we used to pull at the gate were the ones that looked swollen, overstuffed and messy. If it bulged, you were paying.
That’s why I now use vacuum travel packing bags on every Ryanair trip. They shrink clothes by up to 70%, keep your bag flat and sizer-safe, and help you avoid those brutal gate fees. 👉 These are the exact ones I use
If you want to fly Ryanair cheaply without being stung, your real protection now comes from:
Understanding Ryanair cabin bag rules
Using a Ryanair-approved under-seat bag
Knowing your compensation rights for delays and cancellations
Avoiding check-in fines with the right gadget and prep
I’d recommend bookmarking:
👉 Ryanair Cabin Bags: What You Need to Know
👉 Best Personal-Size Under-Seat Bags for Ryanair Flights
👉 Ryanair Set to Revolutionise Check-In with a Fully Digital System
👉 Ryanair Baggage Rules 2025: Free Extra Bag for Children
What Ryanair Prime’s Collapse Really Tells Us
This failure is actually very revealing.
Ryanair is:
The most disciplined revenue-optimised airline in Europe
Obsessed with monetising every passenger touchpoint
Built on predictability, not bundled generosity
For Prime to fail here tells us one thing clearly:
Even Ryanair couldn’t make discounted loyalty work… without wrecking its own revenue machine.
That alone should tell you everything about how fragile airline subscriptions truly are.
Final Boarding Call: A Bold Idea That Never Fit Ryanair
Ryanair Prime is dead after just eight months a blink in airline strategy terms.
For passengers, that means:
No more subscription shortcuts
Full return to strict Ryanair baggage rules
Seat selection, boarding priority, and insurance firmly back behind paywalls
Prime didn’t fail because it was badly marketed. It failed because it went against Ryanair’s DNA.
Hello, I’m Paul a professional jet-setter and all-around plane travel pro. After 15 years working in and around planes, I became a flight delay expert at a London airport and mastered plane travel hacks, a PLANE flight expert with BIG travel plans but small carry-on.
Now, I share PLANE travel news, tips, reviews, and deals with honesty, humour, and zero baggage! Thanks for reading Ryanair Really Did It: Prime Subscription Axed in Less Than a Year.
Plane Extras
The PLANE Smart Way to Take Off
Here are my go-to travel extras that help keep this blog (and me) airborne.
🅿️ Airport Parking Compare prices and save up to 75% at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and more with Compare Parking Prices UK →
🍸 Lounge Access Why wait at the gate when you could sip a pre-flight prosecco?
Get 30% off a Priority Pass membership → and access 1,800+ lounges worldwide.
🌍 Travel Insurance Don’t fly without cover. Coverwise (by AXA) offers annual European cover from £10.20, including medical consultations and pre-existing conditions.
🎒 Plane Essentials My must-pack travel gear, from cabin-size backpacks to neck pillows that actually work. Shop my curated Amazon Storefront →
📱Stay Connected Avoid roaming shock. Arlo eSIMs → give you instant data in 180+ destinations, no SIM swap required.
💳 Boost Your Avios Earn faster and fly farther with my Amex Gold referral →
or track reward seats via Reward Flight Finder →.
Comments