King of ancillary revenues, RyanAir offers €1,000 for best idea on making money!

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It seems like RyanAir folks read SimpliFlying! Just when we’re having an ancillary revenues special this month, they’re giving us all the fodder to write about!

The airline has launched a competition where anyone in Europe can suggest ideas by email to competition@ryanair.com on how RyanAir can make more money off their customers! The best idea wins €1,000.

Some of the wackiest ideas are already stated on RyanAir’s website:

• Charging for toilet paper – with O’Leary’s face on it,
• Charging €2.50 to read the safety cards,
• Charging €1 to use oxygen masks,
• Charging €25 to use the emergency exit,
• Charging €50 for bikini clad Cabin Crew.
  

An airline which laughs at itself

These days, companies, especially large, international ones that dare to laugh at themselves are a rarity. And an airline that can do that earns my respect. Others in those ranks? I’d say Southwest, JetBlue, Virgin America, Kulula.com, Indigo and AirAsia. Ironically, no legacy carriers made to this list. Do you know of any more?

A “cheap”, but authentic brand

Alright, many of you woul classify this RyanAir move as “cheap”. But isn’t RyanAir a cheap airline for the cheap traveler? Then, I’m sure the competition resonates well with its target market!

The true measure of how distinct a brand positioning is not just the number of fans, but also the number of detractors. Brands that try to be everything to everyone often fall flat! And through this competition, RyanAir has only further strengthened its positioning as the “cheapest” airline in Europe and done so very authentically too – by being very open about the fact.

What do you think? Good move by RyanAir or a PR disaster? How can legacy carriers be so open with their customers? Let’s hear it…