Getting Breakfast in Order: Retail inMotion Helps Ryanair Serve Up a Full Irish
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APEX Insight: Ryanair passengers can choose to have a hot breakfast waiting for them on their early-morning flight. Working with Retail inMotion, the Irish low-cost carrier recently joined a growing number of airlines giving passengers the option to order their breakfast before boarding.
A meal can be something to look forward to for passengers, and having one preordered can simplify and improve the travel experience.
Working with Retail inMotion, Ryanair recently became yet another airline to give passengers the option to order their breakfast before boarding. Since October 2016, for 10 euros, customers can reserve a full Irish breakfast before their early-morning flight out of Dublin Airport.
The process is simple: When booking a flight, the option to preorder breakfast is listed among the other usual choices, such as car rental, priority boarding and extra luggage.
Retail inMotion, a subsidiary of LSG Group, developed the program and says other airlines are showing interest. It can either be integrated into an airline’s existing booking system or come as one element of the company’s onboard retail software suite, Vector, which is currently used by Ryanair.
“It’s completely customizable,” says Jordan Locke, manager of Corporate Communications for LSG Group. “We can offer a solution like the one for Ryanair (one meal option from one station) or create something more complex.”
The feedback from customers so far has been positive. In addition to being guaranteed their hot meal won’t sell out, Ryanair passengers who have preordered their breakfast receive it before the regular food and beverage sales service begins. And since the meal is paid for when booking, there’s no need to root around for cash or a credit card.
The service also gives airlines another opportunity to interact with customers. The cabin crew know the names of the passengers who have opted for the service, so they can personalize the meal delivery. Waste-conscious airlines will like that the catering division can calculate how many presold meals should be loaded before each flight. For Retail inMotion, the future is clear. “We believe that preordering is becoming an industry standard,” Locke says. “We’ve seen demand for the service pick up extremely quickly in recent months.”
“Getting Breakfast in Order” was originally published in the 7.2 April/May issue of APEX Experience magazine.