Ryanair has found itself with a new horde of fans after becoming a TikTok hit amongst international zoomers.
Ryanair boasts an impressive following with a massive 1.5 million followers and 42.2 million likes, making it the biggest airline on the platform.
In comparison, Virgin Atlantic has 75,100 followers and 1.1 million likes, easyJet has just 17,1oo followers and Qantas has less than 5,000 followers, although it does not post videos.
The videos satirise passengers, rival airlines, and its own service and have become a major success with international TikTok audiences, with many calling for the airline to expand its flight route so they can fly with Ryanair.
@ryanair Am I gatekeeping? Yes, yes I am👁👄👁 #ryanair #airline #cabincrew #gatekeeping
One user commented on a video: “I will literally move countries just to be able to fly Ryanair.”
Another American user added in response to a video: “This is great and I can’t even fly Ryanair in the US.”
A third posted: “I don’t live in Europe so I will never fly Ryanair but because of this account it’s my favourite airline.”
However, some European users have been quick to dampen the hopeful expectations of overseas zoomers by pointing out cases of slow refunds, bumpy landings, and cancelled flights.
One person commented: “Queen of TikTok but not queen of the skies.”
The Ryanair account capitalises on TikTok lingo, jokes, sounds, and trends that are popular on the app.
A frequent joke on the page is mocking Virgin Atlantic for being ‘mid’ – meaning average – and United Airlines was called out when it tried to emulate Ryanair’s style.
https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanair/video/7046429068765515014?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1&lang=en
The airline’s most recent video responded to comments calling for Ryanair to go to the USA, but said that it’s “Loyal to Europe.”
https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanair/video/7054225280969280773?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1&lang=en
Speaking in a recent interview, Ryanair’s head of social, Michael Corcoran, explained he thought the success of the brand of TikTok was due to the decision to “lose the corporate tone of voice.”
“We’ve conditioned social media to be a dumping ground for every piece of information available to us – Ryanair want to stand out and avoid clutter,” Corcoran said.
