Ryanair has launched a business class service on all of its flights.
The new business service offers unlimited flight changes (meaning you can switch your flight time or destination), including free changes on the day of travel.
The “Business Plus” fares, which start at £59.99, give customers more flexible tickets, more check-in baggage, priority boarding and premium seats. In other words, the first five rows for speedy boarding or the exit rows for extra legroom (subject to availability, of course).
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Taking care of business
Business passengers already make up a quarter of Ryanair’s customer base and the new fares are designed to attract more of this market.
Return flights to the likes of Milan, Madrid and Barcelona take off three times a day too; this is likely to appeal to businesspeople as they can do an international round trip in a day.
From summer 2015, the budget airline will be operating flights from Stansted to Cologne, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Too little, too late?
Ryanair realises it has something of an image problem. To try to rectify that, it has already introduced allocated seating, relaxed cabin baggage restrictions, reduced charges and more flexible booking conditions.
The airline emphasises that there is no blue curtain and that there will be no changes to the structure of the aircrafts with this new business class service. There was also a firm “no” to free food on board, in case any of you were wondering.
There was a hint at USB chargers on future flights though, so watch this space.
Rival airline EasyJet has already gone upmarket and launched a business package of its own, so now the two are in direct competition.
To test out this new service’s value for money, we've compared Ryanair's business flights to Prague with business class rates from other top UK carriers.
|
Airline |
Cost of a return flight from England to Prague, flying Monday 1st September and returning Wednesday 3rd September 2014 |
Perks |
|
Ryanair Business Plus |
London Stansted-Prague:
From £291.98 |
Unlimited flight changes Free changes on day of travel 20kg baggage allowance Fast track airport security Priority boarding Choose your premium seat |
|
EasyJet Plus |
London Stansted- Prague:
From £164.98
|
Allocated seating, speedy boarding Fast Track security One piece of hand luggage (unlimited weight) One piece of hold luggage (20kg max) No extra booking fees Unlimited free date changes in a four week period |
|
British Airways Club Europe |
London Heathrow- Prague:
From £800 |
Private lounge access More space Complimentary food and drink service Dedicated check-in desks and priority boarding Larger baggage allowance than Euro Traveller |
|
Flybe All In |
Manchester- Prague
From £1,389.58 |
Fully changeable tickets at no extra charge Seat selection Check-in up to 40kg of luggage and a laptop bag in addition to one piece of cabin luggage Dedicated check-in Executive lounge Complimentary drinks and snacks No debit card charges |
Critics argue that passengers who opt for Ryanair’s business class deal are merely paying more for standard economy class service. With its facilities and customer service falling behind its competitors, they may be right.
All in all, It will be interesting to see whether or not a move like this can help to repair the airline's damaged reputation.
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Would you pay extra to fly on Ryanair’s business class service? Tell us in the comments below.