Ryanair's £79 membership scheme takes off – but Which? says ‘think twice'
Ryanair has become the latest low-cost airline to offer a yearly membership scheme that promises benefits such as free reserved seats and cheap flights – but the consumer group Which? says you should look at the small print before you join.
The low-cost carrier's Prime membership costs £79 a person a year and promises 12 free seat reservations, travel insurance, and monthly access to a sale. However, the terms and conditions show a number of limitations.
Ads for the new membership scheme boast 'free reserved seats' but this is limited to free reservations only on specially designated seats. If there are none left, members have to take a randomly allocated seat or if they want to choose a different seat, they will be charged (minus what the Prime seat costs).
The travel insurance only covers trips involving a Ryanair flight and the medical protections are not available for people aged over 70.
The airline promises access to '12 member-only seat sales' but the details of how these differ from the regular seats sales Ryanair offers are unclear. The current membership sale for May promises '£50 off return flights'.
The discounted fares are only available to people who hold the membership, the T&Cs state, and members have to be over 18. So if someone is booking for a family, the children would not be able to get the better rates nor would they be able to sit in the member seats.
Rory Boland, the editor of Which? Travel, says people should 'think twice' before committing.
'The service is full of caveats when it comes to seat selection, while Ryanair's travel insurance offers poor cover compared with cheaper policies that are rated highly by Which?,' Boland says.
'There's little detail on Ryanair's exclusive deals for Prime subscribers, or how they would differ from the many offers and deals Ryanair already sends out to customers or features on its website.'
Other low-cost airlines also offer membership schemes. Wizz has four different layers of its Discount Club (priced €60/£51 to €385/£327 a year), which gives discounts on flights, and free cabin bags and priority boarding depending on how much you pay. Between one and five companions can get the membership benefits depending on which scheme you join.
EasyJet Plus (£249 a person) promises premium seats, a dedicated bag drop area, speedier boarding, allowance for overhead cabin bags and free switches to earlier return flights. Access to fast-track security at some airports is another feature as well discounts on food and drink bought on board. Benefits are just for the member but partners can be added (for £215) and children under 16 (£155).
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