Ryanair moves to pep up ''disappointing'' digEplayer results
February 1, 2005 - A PRICE cut and the addition of content in languages other than English are among the measures being taken by leading European low-cost carrier Ryanair to stimulate usage of the APS digEplayers being trialled on five of its 79 Boeing 737s.
The airline has been offering digEplayers on the Stansted-based aircraft, operating on a mix of routes across Europe, since last September. ''Uptake has been disappointing to date,'' says Ryanair chief financial officer Howard Millar. A report in today’s London Daily Telegraph puts the average figure at three to four per cent of passengers.
Uptake on flights of less than an hour and a half is generally very low, according to Millar, with most of the demand coming on flights of longer duration.
''We expect uptake levels to strengthen now that we have now rectified the lack of language content by providing movies and Tv programmes in a minimum of three languages,'' says Millar. Episodes of the TV series Friends and The Simpsons are now available in German and Italian as well as English, while the 11-title selection of films is variously available in French, German, Italian and Spanish.
Ryanair has also cut the rental charge from £5/Eur7 per flight to £3.50/Eur5 in an effort to boost usage. ''At this point it’s difficult to know how total revenues will turn out,'' says Millar. ''But at best we would expect average revenue to be the equivalent of 35 European cents per passenger, or Eur11-14 million (£7.6-9.7 million) per annum.''
Ryanair reports no logistical problems with the handheld digEplayers. The units are stored on board and batteries are charged overnight and delivered daily to the aircraft. ''We have experienced no on-board issues with units or staff,'' says Millar.
The content - which includes cartoons, audio channels and music videos as well as films and TV series - is supplied by APS-Wencor and refreshed at Stansted every 60 days.
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