Some brands completely miss the mark on social media—and then there’s Ryanair.
The low-cost Irish airline has managed to turn snark, chaos, and self-deprecation into a brilliant social media strategy that consistently goes viral. While other airlines post dreamy travel shots and polished promos, Ryanair is roasting itself, trolling passengers, and riding trends with lo-fi absurdity.
Keep reading to discover why Ryanair’s social media strategy works—and what makes it so effective.
What Is Ryanair?
Ryanair is a low-cost airline based in Ireland, known for offering some of the cheapest flights across Europe. Founded in 1984, it has grown into one of the continent’s largest carriers by focusing on no-frills service, high-efficiency operations, and ultra-competitive pricing.
While often criticized for its add-on fees and bare-minimum comfort, Ryanair has embraced its reputation and turned it into a marketing advantage.
What Does a Typical Airline’s Social Media Strategy Look Like?
Most airline social media strategies follow a familiar formula: clean visuals, feel-good messaging, and aspirational travel content. The goal is usually to promote comfort, safety, and premium experiences.
You’ll often see:
- Professionally produced ads and destination reels
- Corporate announcements and loyalty program promotions
- Customer service responses in a formal, brand-safe tone
- Branded hashtags that rarely go viral
- Minimal risk-taking or personality in the content
Ryanair? Does the exact opposite!
Ryanair’s Social Media Strategy: A Complete 180 from Traditional Airline Marketing
Where most airlines play it safe, Ryanair goes rogue—and it works.
Instead of polished videos or dreamy destination posts, Ryanair leans into lo-fi content, chaotic humor, and full-on self-deprecation. Their tone is blunt, sarcastic, and unapologetically on-brand. They don’t pretend to be luxurious or customer-obsessed. In fact, they often joke about cramped seats, extra fees, and how little passengers get for their money.
This “embrace the hate” approach flips traditional branding on its head. Rather than dodge criticism, Ryanair uses it as raw material for content.
Passengers complain? That’s a meme.
Hidden fees? They’ll make a TikTok about it.
Their social media team has mastered the art of turning every complaint, stereotype, and roast into engagement gold.
The result: Ryanair stands out in an industry where most airlines look and sound the same. Their content feels real, risky, and relentlessly entertaining. And guess what? People absolutely love and share it!
Ryanair’s TikTok Mastery
Ryanair is arguably the most successful airline on TikTok. And no, not because they’re following the best TikTok trends or practices. Ryanair is totally rewriting them!
Their content is raw, memeable, and incredibly self-aware. Rather than show off destinations or aircraft features, they lean hard into internet humor, absurdity, and the collective pain of budget travel.
One viral video shows a knight in full armor dragging a suitcase toward a medieval-looking airport, captioned: “How it feels approaching the airport at 3 am.” It’s ridiculous, dramatic, and instantly relatable for anyone who’s ever taken a pre-dawn Ryanair flight.
In another, a woman claps on landing with the text: “If you clap when we land…” — a tongue-in-cheek nod to a common but cringed-at passenger habit. The tone is playful, teasing both the audience and themselves.
Put simply: Ryanair is embracing internet culture instead of going corporate and dry, turning every TikTok into a conversation starter.
Ryanair’s Facebook Strategy
On Facebook, Ryanair keeps the same irreverent tone but tailors it to an older, broader audience. Most posts are short, text-based, and designed to feel like inside jokes shared with regular flyers.
One recent post reads, “Just to clarify, a window is not included in your fare.” It’s a playful jab at the airline’s famously stripped-down pricing model, turning what might be a complaint into a punchline.
Another says, “it’s an airport, not a fashion show,” taking aim at overly dressed travelers with a perfectly dry sense of humor. The post racked up thousands of reactions and sparked a lively, joke-filled comment thread.
These posts thrive on relatability and brutal honesty. Ryanair isn’t trying to impress; it’s trying to entertain. That approach builds loyalty, not through polish, but by consistently delivering laughs. And, as comments under these posts show, people absolutely love it!
They’re Brilliant on Threads, Too
On Threads, Ryanair continues its signature mix of brutal honesty and dry humor, but adapts it to the platform’s fast-paced, text-first vibe. Posts are short, snappy, and read like hot takes from someone who’s very online—and very fed up.
One post reads, “We take you from A to B, everything else is extra,” a perfect summary of the Ryanair promise.
Another, “online check-in is not algebra, you can do it,” pokes fun at customers who struggle with their digital-first experience.
Even when users clap back, Ryanair’s brand wins. A top comment on the check-in post says, “You guys are putting so much more effort into your social media than your customers’ experience,” and it gets laughs, not backlash.
📖 Related Read: 8 Threads Trends to Incorporate Into Your Strategy
What Happened Between Ryanair CEO and Elon Musk Recently?
In January 2026, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary publicly rejected Elon Musk’s Starlink Wi-Fi for Ryanair planes, citing high costs and fuel drag. Musk responded on X (Twitter) by insulting O’Leary and calling him “an utter idiot.” O’Leary hit back, calling Musk “an idiot—very wealthy, but still an idiot”—and said the feud was boosting bookings.
Ryanair capitalized on the headlines by launching a cheeky “Big Idiot Seat Sale,” offering Musk a free ticket and turning the spat into social media gold. The feud generated massive media coverage and, according to O’Leary, a noticeable rise in ticket sales.
Even conflict becomes content when you’re Ryanair.
FAQs
Ryanair’s strategy works because it embraces humor, honesty, and internet culture. They don’t pretend to be something they’re not. Instead, they lean into their brand reputation and create content that’s bold, relatable, and native to each platform.
They adjust the style but keep the voice. On TikTok, they go full meme; on Facebook, it’s dry and witty; on Threads, they’re snappy and sarcastic. No matter the platform, the personality stays the same—just adapted to fit.
Yes, but that’s part of the appeal. They take calculated risks by owning their flaws and poking fun at themselves. It works because it aligns with their low-cost, no-frills identity and builds trust through transparency.
Ryanair’s Social Media Strategy is So, So Good
Ryanair proves that when a brand fully leans into its identity (even the messy parts), it can build massive online momentum. By embracing humor, reacting in real-time, and staying brutally honest, they’ve turned budget travel into viral content.
Of course, before any post goes out, it needs to be approved. Whether you’re managing social media content for your company or multiple clients as an agency, you need a reliable content approval process.
Gain is built exactly for that. With automated content approval workflows, dynamic post previews, and automatic reminders, Gain takes the hassle out of the process so your team can focus on what matters—creating great content.
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