Ryanair looks to grow loyalty scheme by making membership automatic

Ryanair is making its ‘MyRyanair’ loyalty programme automatic for all customer bookings in order to “tailor services” and “improve offers for each customer”. Through the move, which will roll out early next year, the airline aims to increase its membership from 15 million to more than 25 million by the end of 2017.

The airline says MyRyanair is not a traditional loyalty programme as it does not use a traditional points system and instead tailors offers and products for customers on an individual basis. It believes by focusing on its loyalty system and the increase in its members, the overall growth of the airline will increase further.

Today (7 Nov) in its half-year results, Ryanair profits rose by 7% to €1.17bn (£1.04bn) and there was a 12% increase in traffic to 65 million customers.

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The airline said in September its mobile app was the eighth most used app in the UK, “well ahead” of competitors Easyjet and British Airways, which came in 20th and 37th place. The company said its success here was down to its “heavy investment” in Ryanair Labs, which it believes is “transforming” its digital platform.

“We continue to invest heavily in Ryanair Labs which is transforming our digital platform to make it easier for customers to interact with Ryanair and book our lowest fares and ancillary services,” said Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary.

O’Leary, said Ryanair Labs has led to digital improvement through personalisation. He said this, along with its 50 million emails a month to customers, is making it easier for customers to interact with Ryanair.

In turn this has helped “drive penetration” and create a “significant upward shift in web visits”. It also led Ryanair to overtake Southwest Airlines to become the “world’s largest airline website”.

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The airline also launched its accommodation service Ryanair Rooms in October, something it describes as a “quiet launch” and having “technically launched well”. It currently only has two suppliers, Hotelopia and Hotels.com, but is aiming for five by March. It believes that the service will help it to “convert and maintain more customers”.