Ryanair launches event ticketing platform
Europe’s biggest airline, Dublin-based low-cost carrier Ryanair, is trading landing gear for live music with the introduction of Ryanair Tickets, a new service selling tickets to concerts, theatrical shows and sporting events.
Ryanair Tickets – a joint venture with Coras, an Irish tech start-up that enables ticket agencies to integrate inventory into third-party websites – allows Ryanair’s 129m customers to purchase tickets both through its standalone website, tickets.ryanair.com, and during the flight booking process, recognising that “travel plans increasingly start with the purchase of an event ticket”, says Coras CEO Mark McLaughlin.
Ryanair Tickets’ initial focus is on West End shows, with its live music roster kicking off with Live at Chelsea, the series of concerts at the Royal Hospital Chelsea in west London, starting with James Blunt on 16 June 2018. Tickets for the James Blunt show are on sale today, with “tickets for more theatre, live music and sporting events coming soon”, according to Ryanair.
Greg O’Gorman, the airline’s director of ancillary, says: “We’re pleased to partner with Coras to launch Ryanair Tickets, offering customers the opportunity to purchase tickets to top West End shows, including Aladdin, Wicked, the Lion King and Les Misérables.
“Ryanair Tickets offers customers a more convenient and personalised experience to purchase the best event tickets across Europe”
“Customers will benefit from very competitive prices as an easy add-on within their MyRyanair account. Initially launching with tickets for shows in the UK, Ryanair Tickets will be extended to include events across Europe in the future.”
“Travel plans increasingly start with the purchase of an event ticket, whether it be for a Premiership football match or for a favourite music artist,” adds McLaughlin. “Ryanair Tickets offers customers a more convenient and personalised experience to purchase the best event tickets across Europe.
“To celebrate we are launching a special introductory offer on all theatre tickets booked before December, meaning customers won’t have to pay the high fees charged by other leading ticket agencies.”
U2 guitarist Edge in March became the latest investor in Coras, joining a €1.9 million funding round led by private-equity firm Atlantic Bridge.
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U2’s Edge invests in ticketing start-up Coras
U2 guitarist the Edge is among the latest investors in Coras, an Irish start-up which enables ticket agencies to integrate inventory into third-party websites, allowing “customers to buy tickets for any event or activity through sites they already use”.
The Edge is one of several participants in a €1.9 million funding round, led by private-equity firm Atlantic Bridge and also including Hambro Perks and Elkstone Capital, ahead of the platform’s launch later this year.
Coras CEO Mark McLaughlin (pictured) comments: “We’re very happy to have Atlantic Bridge lead this investment combined with all the other investors that participated in the round. Their experience in launching and scaling global technology companies will prove invaluable to Coras.
“We believe that ticketing will no longer solely be the domain of traditional ticket agents but will broaden to encompass other market-leading brands”
“We believe that ticketing will no longer solely be the domain of traditional ticket agents but will broaden to encompass other market-leading brands, and we are looking forward to driving that transformation. If you’re a supplier such as a theatre, promoter, museum or sports team that wants to sell tickets through an increased distribution network or a distributor that wants to sell tickets with your core product or service, please get in touch as we would be excited to work with you.”
Coras’s initial ticket suppliers include Nimax Theatres and Ambassador Theatre Group/ATG Tickets. It has yet to announce any participating website distributors, although it says its “pool of inventory will be connected to some of the biggest online brands via a simple API integration, enabling these brands to sell tickets in addition to their core offering”.
In doing so, it says, the Dublin-based company will “move the industry from a static distribution model, where customers are forced to go to a limited number of websites, to a responsive model that matches consumers’ changing lifestyles”.
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