Wizz Air and EasyJet have offered paid subscriptions for extra services for a while. Now, Europe’s largest low-cost airline is jumping on the bandwagon. Today, Ryanair introduced Ryanair Prime. An annual fee of €79 promises various benefits. However, upon closer inspection, it turns out to be quite misleading.
Ryanair Prime is initially available only to residents of selected countries (Ireland, Greece, Germany and Austria), but not e.g. in the UK. We’ve gone through the fine print and will briefly introduce the included services in this article.
Table of Contents
Ryanair Prime Benefits
Below is a summary of the included services. You can find the full details in Ryanair’s terms and conditions.
12 Seat Reservations per Year
On paper, the seat reservations seem the most appealing. Unfortunately, compared to EasyJet Plus and Wizz Air’s Privilege Pass / Discount Club Premium, the benefits are quite limited:
- A maximum of 12 free seat reservations is allowed.
- Only selected seats are discounted. Exit-row seats, front-row seats, etc., still cost extra—even for Prime members.
- It is likely that only the cheapest seats are available for free selection, which typically cost around €10 per flight leg.
- If you choose a different seat, you only pay the price difference between a standard and the desired seat.
Seat reservation: A Member may reserve up to 12 free seats for the Member and 12 free seats for their Ryanair Prime Companion in designated rows on specific flights at no additional cost, subject to availability. See rules for reserved seating. There is no guarantee that a Member and their Ryanair Prime Companion will be able to select seats together. Where designated seats are available for Members and/or Ryanair Prime Companions, they must select seats from those designated seats and random seat allocation will not be available.
Ryanair Prime – Terms and Conditions | section 4 D)
In theory, you’re getting around €120 value for the €79, if you fly 12 times. If seat selections are something you care about, this benefit could actually be worth the subscription. However, be aware that only specific rows are designated for Prime members. This means that it may not be possible to sit together with a non-Prime traveller (for free).
Exclusive Emails & Offers
Ryanair promises Prime subscribers exclusive emails. If you don’t want them, tough luck—there’s no option to unsubscribe since these emails are an essential part of the subscription.
A. Exclusive member emails: Members will be notified regularly by email to the email address linked to the Ryanair Prime account about upcoming exclusive flight sales and other relevant offers. These emails are an essential part of the Ryanair Prime service and are a necessary feature of the Ryanair Prime contract. Therefore, Members cannot opt-out of receiving them.
Ryanair Prime – Terms and Conditions | section 4 A)
The promised discounts sound more interesting. However, unlike the Wizz Air Discount Club, where discounts are clearly defined, Ryanair keeps things vague. It only states that discounted flights will be available depending on availability. There is no information on the actual discount percentage or how many flights will be discounted:
B. Discounted fares: Members can book an unlimited number of flights with discounted Ryanair Prime fares for the Member and if applicable, their Ryanair Prime Companion, subject to availability. Certain fare offers may be discontinued between the offer and the point of booking. Discounted fares will only apply to flights that depart within the Member’s current Contract Period.
Ryanair Prime – Terms and Conditions | section 4 B)
At least, if a discount applies, it also extends to pre-selected travel companions.
Travel Insurance
The subscription also includes various travel insurance policies, though many apply only to trips with a Ryanair flight and are riddled with exclusions, making them unreliable.
For instance, the flight delay insurance sounds nice at first. However, the fine print reveals that no compensation is provided for delays under 12 hours. The maximum payout of €240 is only granted for a delay of 240 hours (10 days).
The information provided here is a simplified interpretation of the official insurance terms from Xcover. No claims to accuracy or completeness are made.
Here are the key insurance policies:
- Flight Cancellation Insurance: Reimburses cancellation costs if the subscriber, a travel companion, or a family member falls ill or is injured.
- However, there is a €50 or 10% deductible, and additional services, hotel costs, etc., are not covered.
- Limited International Health Insurance:
- Comes with a €50 deductible and multiple exclusions.
- Delay Insurance:
- No payout for delays under 12 hours; after that, €20 per hour delay.
- Baggage Insurance for theft, delayed baggage, and loss of documents:
- Additional clothing expenses are only reimbursed for baggage delays over 24 hours (plus many other exclusions).
- Travel Accident Insurance for death, blindness, and loss of limbs related to a Ryanair flight.
- Other insurances, such as cash theft insurance (only covers incidents within 30 minutes after withdrawal) and liability insurance (excludes anything vehicle-related).
Conclusion
A closer look at the fine print reveals that Ryanair Prime is a gamble. It’s unclear how many flights will actually be discounted. And the “free” seat reservations apply only to a limited selection of seats.
Considering the value of seat reservations, Ryanair Prime could be worthwhile for travellers taking at least five round trips per year. However, it is by no means a serious alternative to EasyJet Plus or the Wizz Discount Club Premium. Those options are significantly more expensive but also offer more perks, such as free cabin baggage and exit-row seating.
Ultimately, your choice will depend more on each airline’s route network. In that regard, Ryanair remains the dominant player.
Translated and edited by Ditmar
Cover Picture: Ryanair Boeing 737 800 in Athens | Photo by Fotis on Unsplash