The Ryanair Plus fare - more baggage flexibility for frequent flyers

The Ryanair Plus fare is one of those options you only really notice when you see a family at the check-in counter re?packing suitcases on the cold airport floor. With Plus, that extra 20 kg bag and fixed seat are sorted before you leave home.

What Ryanair Plus includes

At its core, the Ryanair Plus fare is a bundled upgrade that adds one 20 kg checked bag, standard seat selection and free airport check-in to a regular Ryanair flight booking. You still fly in economy, but you remove several of the stress points around luggage and boarding.

According to Ryanair’s product pages, Plus also includes earlier boarding in many markets via the Priority queue and permits free changes to the flight date on the same route for a rebooking fee, making it a step above the bare-bones Value fare. Product director Dara Brady has repeatedly framed these bundles as ways to “unbundle stress, not just cost” for customers who fly several times a year.

Pricing and baggage details

The Ryanair Plus fare is offered as a bundle priced from around €25 per one?way segment on top of the underlying Value fare on many intra?European routes, with the precise amount varying by route and season. That price includes a 20 kg checked bag, which alone costs from roughly €12 to €29 when booked separately.

Where Plus becomes visible is at the bag drop: one labeled suitcase glides smoothly over the rubber mat, while another passenger in the standard line wrestles a swollen cabin trolley into shape. Ryanair’s baggage rules state that the 20 kg limit applies per bag and excess weight is charged per kilogram at the airport, making the bundle attractive for travelers who consistently push the limit.

How Plus sits in the fare ladder

Ryanair’s fare structure currently runs from the basic Value fare through Regular and Plus to the more business?oriented Flexi Plus product, each layer adding more services. Plus is aimed at leisure and light business travelers who want certainty about luggage and seats without moving into fully flexible ticket territory.

In presentations to investors, CEO Michael O’Leary highlights the role of fare bundles such as Plus and Flexi Plus in growing ancillary revenue per passenger, a key metric for Ryanair. The logic is simple: some passengers will pay extra for peace of mind around baggage and boarding, and that revenue pools without adding new aircraft or routes.

Where and how you can book

The Ryanair Plus fare is available on the Ryanair website and mobile app during the booking flow for most European routes, including major bases such as Dublin, London Stansted and Milan Bergamo. Customers can upgrade to Plus when selecting fares or, on selected flights, by adding the 20 kg bag and seat selection bundle after booking.

On the booking screen, Plus appears as a colored tile with a short list of included services, making the choice between Value, Regular, Plus and Flexi Plus relatively transparent. Ryanair’s help pages underline that once booked, Plus can be downgraded only by cancelling and rebooking, so customers need to pay attention when tapping through the app on a crowded train.

Why Plus matters for Ryanair stock

From a consumer angle, Ryanair Plus is about avoiding those last?minute surprises at check-in, especially for families, sports teams or anyone travelling with more than a cabin bag. From an investor angle, it is a cog in Ryanair’s broader ancillary revenue machine, contributing to non?ticket income alongside services like priority boarding and reserved seating.

According to Ryanair’s latest annual report, ancillary revenue now accounts for a significant share of total sales, and growth in products like Plus helps smooth earnings even when basic fares are under pressure. On Xetra, the Ryanair Holdings PLC share trades in euros, and demand for bundled baggage and seat products is one of the factors underpinning investor interest.