Ryanair, a discount airline based in Ireland, has partnered with Webloyalty in a move to encourage repeat customers.
Through the new agreement, customers who book tickets online with Ryanair will receive a prompt at the end of the checkout process inviting them to join Webloyalty’s Shopper Discounts and Rewards program. The membership program charges a small monthly fee in return for cash back and discounts with online merchants. To boost loyalty among Ryanair shoppers in particular, members will be offered a one-time £15 cash back check after their first Ryanair ticket purchase and an additional £10 cash back from Web loyalty for each month in which they purchase a Ryanair flight. Ryanair flights from London to Dublin can run for as little as £0.99, according to the company’s Web site.
“This helps Ryanair in a couple of different ways,” said Gill Hynes, VP for marketing at Webloyalty. “They’re able to bring a valuable program to customers, so consumers feel good about the relationship. The other big reason that it benefits is Ryanair is that, as a low-cost carrier, they have lots of competition, and customers can be quite fickle about price. The fact that customers are offered a £10 [$16.50] voucher each month in the program should drive repeat business and help to lock them into Ryanair.”
The partnership helps Webloyalty expand its partner base further into the travel industry. Globally, Webloyalty claims more than 3 million active memberships in its various programs. Ryanair, which has steadily increased its customer base, reported 5.51M passengers in May 2009, a 9% year-over-year increase.
“Ryanair was a good match for us because it is one of first early adopters in the travel space of the concept of ancillary revenue,” Hynes said. “They really maximize opportunities with passengers to offer them additional products, and given that Webloyalty specializes in being a provider of incremental revenue for online businesses, I think that is a core match.”
She added that the two companies also share a consumer base in those who are comfortable with online shopping and who often hunt for discounts.
Ryanair could not be reached for comment as of press time.
