About an hour ago, Ryanair emailed its customers to announce Prime, a £79-a-year membership aimed squarely at regular flyers. The hook? If you fly 12 times a year, they claim in their press release you could save up to £420—more than five times your money back.
But here’s the thing: the whole deal boils down to a bet. A bet that the exclusive sales that are a mysteriously undefined benefit of joining, will be good enough, often enough, to make it worth your while. More on that below—but ask yourself: do you trust Ryanair with that bet?
What you actually get
- Free standard seat selection (up to 12 seats, normally £3-£13 per flight)
- Access to monthly members-only sales
- Annual travel insurance for Ryanair flights (basic cover – read the fine print)
No priority boarding, no fast track, no baggage perks. Just seats, sales, and insurance.
How the savings stack up
Frequent flyer (12 flights a year / 6 returns)
- Seats: £36–£156 saved
- Insurance: Worth around £30 if you’d buy it separately
- Sales: The wildcard-no details so far
Total potential: £66–£186 saved before the £79 fee. After paying, you’re somewhere between £13 down or £107 ahead.
That headline £420 saving? You’d need top-end seat prices and knockout sales to hit it.
Weekend hopper (4 flights a year / 2 returns)
- Seats: £12–£52 saved
- Insurance: £30 value
- Sales: Again, impossible to know
Total: £42–£82 saved. After the fee, you’re either £37 down or £3 up. Tight margins-needs pricey seat choices and insurance to break even.
Rare flyer (2 flights a year / 1 return)
- Seats: £6–£26 saved
- Insurance: £30 value
- Sales: Minimal impact
Total potential saving: £36–£56-still £43 to £23 short of covering the £79 fee.
What’s the catch?
- Limited membership “while stocks last” (their words)
- Standard seats only legroom or front-row seats cost extra (£15–£35)
- Insurance is basic, Ryanair-only, and excludes pre-existing conditions
- Non-refundable if plans change, tough luck
Bottom line: it’s a bet
You’ll claw back your £79 only if you fly often and always pay for seat selection—and even then, the real swing factor is Ryanair’s secret weapon: those “exclusive sales”.
Problem is, Ryanair doesn’t say how big or frequent those savings are. That’s your gamble. You’re betting the sales are strong enough to tip the maths in your favour.
Would you bet on Ryanair coming good? Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya?
Our take
If you’re flying Ryanair six or more return trips a year and paying for seats, this could pay off. Just don’t expect to casually hit that £420 figure unless everything – seat prices, sales, insurance -goes your way.
If you’re flying less? Save your £79.
Tap below to see full detaiols on the Ryanair site.
Kate Acaster is Chief Editor at Flight Tribe. She writes about practical travel planning, budget airlines, baggage rules, city breaks, beach holidays and good hotels that do not cost daft money.
Kate has travelled through Europe, South America and beyond, usually with a notebook, a half-formed plan and a strong opinion on airport snacks. At Flight Tribe, her work focuses on helping UK travellers understand what is included, what costs extra, and whether a trip is worth booking at the price shown.
How Kate works
Kate checks the details that can change the value of a trip, including cabin-bag rules, airline fees, hotel location, seasonality, travel dates and booking conditions. She is especially interested in offers that look useful on the surface but need a proper reader-first check before they are worth recommending.
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