Customers in France affected by Ryanair’s closure of frequent flyer club
The subscription scheme only launched eight months ago
Customers in France who subscribed to Prime will continue to receive full benefits for the remainder of their 12-month membership
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Ryanair is ending its new Prime subscription only eight months after launch, saying the scheme cost the airline more than it generated. It has closed the scheme to new members.
The €79-a-year programme offered discounts on flights, free reserved seating on up to 12 trips, and travel insurance. Ryanair said 55,000 people subscribed, bringing in €4.4m in fees, but passengers obtained more than €6m in savings. The airline said the imbalance made the trial unviable.
Customers in France who subscribed to Prime will continue to receive full benefits for the remainder of their 12-month membership which for many will run until October 2026.
The end of the scheme comes amid wider retrenchment by Ryanair in France, with the airline cutting routes and warning that rising French aviation taxes are pushing future growth and new aircraft away from the country.
Dara Brady, Ryanair’s chief marketing officer, said the project had failed to reach the scale needed to justify its operational burden.
“This trial has cost more money than it generates. This level of membership does not justify the time and effort it takes to launch monthly exclusive Prime seat sales for our 55,000 Prime members,” he said.
Chief executive Michael O’Leary told Bloomberg the company had underestimated the value on offer and suggested the annual fee should have been closer to €99 to cover the cost of the benefits provided.
Prime was introduced in February 2025 as a 12-month rolling subscription with automatic renewal. The airline said it now intends to refocus on price promotions for all passengers rather than a restricted group of subscribers.
Prime’s closure comes despite strong participation, particularly in France and other major EU markets where regular travellers could recoup the subscription fee in a few bookings.
With reserved-seat prices ranging from about £4.50 to £38, a customer using the maximum 12 eligible flights could have saved several times the cost of the annual fee.
Ryanair, which carried over 200 million passengers in the last fiscal year, said it remains committed to offering low fares but will abandon products that do not support its cost-control model.
The company thanked subscribers for participating in the trial and said they would continue to receive all promised benefits until their renewal date.
