Case Study: Ryanair achieves 60% faster bookings and 87% less data transfer with Couchbase Mobile

How Ryanair Increased App Performance with Couchbase Mobile

Ryanair, one of Europe’s largest airlines with millions of mobile users, struggled with slow and unpredictable app performance caused by frequent network retrievals of semi‑static data (seating maps, routes, airport info). The hybrid app’s reliance on real‑time server requests made bookings take over five minutes on average, consumed roughly 80 GB/day in data transfers, and produced a poor user experience and negative app feedback.

By embedding Couchbase Mobile (Couchbase Lite on device, Sync Gateway, and Couchbase Server) to store and synchronize semi‑static data locally, Ryanair eliminated constant cloud round‑trips without major app re‑architecture. The change cut booking time by more than 60% (to under two minutes), reduced network traffic by about 87% (to ~10 GB/day), and substantially improved user experience and app store ratings.

Ryanair

Vladimir Atanosov

Lead Developer