The Ryanair Approach: An Expedition to Budget Travel Bloopers
If you’ve stumbled across a Ryanair TikTok, it’s no great shocker to learn that their team has been granted creative liberty similar to that of a toddler with a paint set. Freedom, after all, breeds a sort of chaotic brilliance that only an airline like Ryanair could harness—if you call it brilliance.
Michael, a self-proclaimed spokesperson for Ryanair’s social media escapades, shared with BBC Newsbeat that this cavalier attitude towards marketing isn’t exactly a pivot for the airline. No, it’s merely a continuation of their long love affair with “disruptive, provocative marketing,” a relationship some fans would label as tempestuous, and others as a whimsical stroll through the land of “What were they thinking?”
And believe us, not everyone was swooning. The airline faced quite the backlash in 2012 when its “Red Hot Fares & Crew!” campaign was promptly banned for objectifying women. Because why limit yourself to just flying people? More recently, their “Jab and Go” advert, cleverly targeting the vaccinated traveler, got them a whopping 2,000 complaints. Who knew there were that many picky flyers?
Yet, the internet has a delightful way of turning a grumpy traveler’s frown upside down. In the realms of social media, Ryanair’s snarky comebacks have earned them a niche fan club—think of it as the band everyone loves to hate but secretly rocks out to in the shower.
Michael declares that his team’s ultimate mission is to judiciously lower passenger expectations about budget travel—because, let’s face it, they’re “far too high.” He winks, “We get you from A to B for the lowest price possible. Everything else is distinctly extra.” The emphasis on “extra” feels almost ominous, doesn’t it? Like a magician promising a surprise ending you might not want to see.
And when Michael says “everything,” he’s referring to absolutely every conceivable component of your travel experience. Why not pay extra for baggage, legroom, or the sheer joy of sitting next to your travel companion? Just this past August, a couple made waves by going viral over a £110 ticket-printing fee at the airport. Yes, they were hit with a fee that made their trip more expensive than a weekend getaway in Paris.
Ryanair, however, embraces the cries of “don’t gouge me, bro!” with the enthusiasm of an overzealous fan at a concert. Their ongoing gag about potentially charging for restroom access has viewers laughing—and cringing. “Not everyone, of course, found it amusing,” Michael admits with a bemused expression. “Some genuinely believed we’d crossed the line into rudeness, and how dare we be so utterly cheeky to our customers!” Ah, irony at its finest, ladies and gentlemen.
