Ryanair has unveiled a raft of improvements to its website aimed at making the booking process easier for passengers.
The developments are the latest in what appears to be a softening from
the airline which just over a month ago introduced Twitter and Facebook pages.
At the time, Ryanair also announced plans to
remove its reCaptcha feature for individual bookings from November 1 and make its mobile application free of charge.
These latest developments include a 24-hour 'grace period' to correct minor errors on bookings from November 1 and a simpler home-page come the end of November.
In addition, the number of clicks required to book a flight will be drastically reduced from 17 to five by the end of November and the whole booking process should be more intuitive.
Further digital initiatives are planned for the coming months including:
- My Ryanair - an area within the website to save personal details securely.
- Mobile boarding passes from mid-February 2014 which can be printed or downloaded to smartphones.
- Fare Finder - a feature enabling searches by price, route and travel period so passengers can click on a fare and automatically see when it is available.
Many view this new cuddlier side of Ryanair as an attempt to increase business following last month's announcement that profit may fall short of predictions.
Last week, Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary took part in the airline's first Twitter Q&A, #grillMOL, with
mainstream media covering details of some of the best including:
O'Leary hosted a second Q&A, this time using #askMOL, last Friday.