Inside Ryanair’s innovation engine: How Europe’s largest airline group is transforming the travel experience

The following article was published by Future Travel Experience

In a headline session at the co-located APEX FTE EMEA and Ancillary & Retailing 2025 events, four senior leaders from Ryanair took to the stage to share how Europe’s largest airline group is reimagining the travel experience.

In a headline session at the co-located APEX FTE EMEA and Ancillary & Retailing 2025 events, which took place on 10-12 June in Dublin, four senior leaders from Ryanair took to the stage to share how Europe’s largest airline group is reimagining the travel experience across its digital, airport, inflight, and ancillary strategies. Moderated by Future Travel Experience Founder & Chairman Daniel Coleman, the session provided a rare, unfiltered look at how Ryanair’s relentless focus on efficiency, scale, and customer relevance continues to drive its market leadership.

With growth targets that include 618 aircraft by 2026 and 300 million passengers annually by 2034, the airline is leveraging in-house technology, new infrastructure, and customer data to scale smartly – without compromising its low-cost DNA.

Digital at the core: Ryanair Labs and the ‘Amazon of Travel’

CTO John Hurley opened the session by revealing how Ryanair has evolved into a tech-first business, with Ryanair Labs – its in-house development engine – at the heart of the transformation. Spread across Ireland, Spain, Poland and Portugal, Ryanair Labs builds custom tools to support profitability, speed, and control.

Hurley highlighted innovations such as Brainer, a machine learning pricing engine, and Ryanair Connect, an internal crew app inspired by Amazon’s A to Z system. “Everything we build must either enable or save the business,” he said. “We don’t buy off-the-shelf unless it’s the smartest option – building lets us move faster and tailor everything to our needs.”

As Ryanair continues to scale, Hurley emphasised the cultural shift underway: “We’re no longer just a low-cost carrier. We’re a digital organisation competing for tech talent, innovating constantly, and still doing it all with lean budgets.”

Streamlining airport operations

Tom Kelly, Director of Ground Operations, brought a blunt, operations-first mindset to the discussion. His vision of airport innovation isn’t shaped by architecture or aesthetics – it’s driven by what gets flights out on time.

“We care about speed and efficiency,” he said. “We’re investing in what actually matters – kiosks, bag drops, and next, boarding gates.”

With nearly 50% of Ryanair passengers already checking in via kiosks, and 70% targeted by summer, Kelly revealed ambitions to reinvent the boarding gate process using green-screen technology and biometrics – led by the airline, not the airport.

Robotics will play a role in baggage handling over time, but Ryanair is focused on practical gains. “We’ll adopt tech that works. No gimmicks.”

Inflight innovation – improving boarding and introducing AI tools

Director of Inflight Sinead Quinn emphasised a key principle: listen to crew and customers, then simplify. From improving boarding flows to introducing AI-powered support tools for crew, Ryanair is streamlining the inflight experience without adding unnecessary complexity.

Ryanair Connect, used by all crew, includes rostering, policy guidance, and AI chat features to reduce reliance on support desks. “It empowers our teams to act fast and stay informed,” she said.

On inflight connectivity, Quinn was pragmatic: “Wi-Fi is there, but many passengers enjoy disconnecting. It’s about understanding real preferences – not assuming tech is always the answer.”

She concluded by noting that the future of inflight service lies in personal choice: “Let customers pick what suits them – automation when they want it, human interaction when they don’t.”

Ancillary revenue – personalised intelligent offers at scale

Greg O’Gorman, Director of Ancillary Revenue, revealed how Ryanair’s data-led approach to ancillaries is boosting both margins and customer satisfaction. By dynamically pricing add-ons like carry-on bags using up to 20 parameters, revenue from this product alone has grown from 24% to 34% of ancillary income.

Fast-track products, available through partnerships with over 90 European airports, are offered dynamically at the right moment, while newer offerings like Ryanair Prime – a subscription-based loyalty product – are scaling quickly with 30,000 current subscribers and 100,000 targeted within the first year.

Customer preferences vary by market, O’Gorman explained: “UK and Irish passengers love fast-track. Dutch and French go for car hire. Italians buy scratch cards and fragrance. We lean into what works and drop what doesn’t.”

He sees major future opportunities in the onboard experience – not in traditional IFE, which hasn’t proven viable, but in AI-driven recommendation engines, personalised bundles, and smart product positioning.

Scaling the right way

Across the session, one message rang clear: Ryanair doesn’t innovate for show – it innovates to win. Whether investing in internal tech talent, automating gate processes, refining inflight service, or optimising commercial performance, every decision is guided by real impact, not industry buzz.

As Ryanair continues to grow, its leaders made one thing clear: efficiency, clarity, and customer relevance remain non-negotiable – and those principles are exactly what will carry the airline to its next 100 million passengers.

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Inside Ryanair’s innovation engine: How Europe’s largest airline group is transforming the travel experience