Ryanair sets out plans to attract families

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/jun/17/ryanair-plans-to-attract-families

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Family-friendly ventures at Ryanair have in the past meant little more than asking journalists to asterisk out the swear words after press conferences.

That was in the days of the higher public profile enjoyed by its chief executive, Michael O'Leary, who described having children at home as a great incentive to work long hours. But with Michael O'Leary taking a back seat on press duties, the Irish airline has made its latest step towards reinvention with a push to attract families on board – including bottle warming, changing facilities and transporting buggies and car seats free.

The airline once famed for its draconian policing of baggage allowances will cut fees imposed on infants, allow parents an extra cabin bag for their children and offer discounts for their checked-in bags and other optional extras. Families can also book further trips at a reduced price.

Ryanair says up to 20% of its 81 million customers are travelling as families and it wants to raise that figure. Kenny Jacobs, Ryanair's chief marketing officer, said: "Families are a big deal for us. It's a group of customers that we want to get closer to. We asked them what they wanted, and they said these facilities. These will bring a new type of customer to Ryanair."

Families can be a lucrative market for airlines as they travel predominantly in the Easter and summer seasons paying peak prices. But the airline hopes discounts for repeat bookings will encourage them to take a third trip in the less busy times.

Jacobs claimed the whole package of discounts in the newly launched Family Extra scheme could save a family of four up to £400 over three trips.

While offering free services appears to fly in the face of the traditional no-frills model, he said it would encourage families to fly. "We had prices that made it quite expensive and prohibitive, but now it's an incentive for young families." He added: "If young families are stressed, it's stressful for everyone. This is taking away the difficulties."

As well as hoping to create a loyal customer base, the airline plans to use the data accumulated from bookings to start joint ventures and promotions with other businesses. Jacobs, an ex-Tesco marketing director, said that airlines have not made the most of that "rich detail" in the way Clubcards and similar retention schemes would target customers.

The airline said it already had a greater proportion of families flying from its overseas markets, notably Poland, Portugal and Italy.

The move to attract families is the latest in a series of Ryanair rebrands in less than a year since its chief executive declared a switch in strategy to stop "unnecessarily pissing people off", including allocated seating, less punitive charges and a new website.

Allaying fears that the new Ryanair might be incurring greater costs – meaning higher fares – a spokesman revealed that the marketing video for Ryanair's family product was shot in the office, using employees' own children.