Discount airline Ryanair (RYAAY) is shutting down its Ryanair Prime membership program after deciding that the €79 ($91.40) annual fee and low customer interest weren’t enough to make the service financially worthwhile. After an eight-month trial, the airline said it stopped accepting new sign-ups on November 28, though existing members can keep using their discounted fares until October 2026.
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The company had hoped to attract around 250,000 members but ended up with only 55,000, which generated €4.4 million in fees. Notably, Ryanair said that the program actually cost more than it brought in. According to Chief Marketing Officer Dara Brady, Prime members received over €6 million in fare discounts, meaning that the airline lost money during the trial.
Interestingly, management had already admitted that Prime was unlikely to become a major revenue source. More specifically, CEO Michael O’Leary said earlier this year that the program would contribute only about €2.5 million in earnings, which is a small amount for a company targeting €1.6 billion in annual profit. Leary also admitted that the membership likely should have been priced at €99 to make financial sense. Interestingly, investors seemed a little disappointed, as shares slipped in today’s trading.
Is Ryanair Stock a Good Buy?
Using TipRanks’ technical analysis tool, the indicators seem to point to a positive outlook for Ryanair stock. Indeed, the overall consensus section pictured below shows that 14 indicators are Bullish, compared to three Neutral and five Bearish indicators.
