Despite announcing that annual net income fell for the first time in five years, Ryanair officials announced that their customer loyalty program eclipsed two million members.
“While disappointing that profits fell 8.0% to 523 million euros due mainly to a 4.0% decline in fares, weaker sterling, and higher fuel costs, we reacted quickly to this weaker environment last September by lowering fares and improving our customer experience,” chief executive Michael O'Leary said in the earnings release.
Passenger numbers rose 3%, to 81.7 million in the last financial year, while revenue also grew 3%, to 5.03 billion euros.
Ryanair has signed up more than two million customers to its myRyanair loyalty program in five months. The program is part of larger company plans to improve customer experience and appeal.
myRyanair saves customer data, making it quicker and simpler to book flights in the future, as well as allowing Ryanair to offer tailored news and personalized fares. It will also offer access to the airline’s new business and family services once they launch later in the year.
Customers are prompted to sign up and create a profile when they make a booking, although they can also do it from the home page. More than 700,000 people signed up in the first two months following its launch in December, with a further 1.3 million signing up in the ensuing three months.
During the Monday earnings call, O’Leary admitted that Ryanair used to have a website that was “worst in class” and that made it as difficult as possible to book tickets. He credits improvements to the site and the recent TV and marketing campaign to support those changes as part of the reason for a big step up in forward bookings for the summer months.
“We have transformed our digital business in the last six months,” O’Leary explained. “We had a website that was worst in class that is becoming best in class. Our fare finder service is unique and is a concept competitor easyJet has announced plans to copy. Plus myRyanair is building up very quickly–more than two million passengers have signed up and we are planning to roll out a new mobile app and tailor the website for phones, smartphones, and tablets.”
Ryanair is planning further marketing campaigns to support upcoming product launches, including “heavyweight advertising” in the business press to back up the launch of its business service, which is expected towards the end of August. It will be offered at a premium compared to Ryanair’s normal fares but consists of value-added extras such as flexible tickets, free reserved seating, priority boarding and check-in bags and security fast-track.