Ryanair is facing a Competition and Markets Authority investigation into charges it imposes on parents who want to sit next to their child on a flight – a fee the watchdog says is typically £8 each way.
The CMA said the Irish carrier’s terms and conditions require at least one parent to sit with children aged between two and 11, including those with disabilities, through what the airline calls a “mandatory family seat”. For that, the parent must pay a fee ranging from €4.50 to €13.50 (£4-£12), usually £8 per leg.
“CMA investigates Ryanair over £8 fee for parents to sit with children; airline calls inquiry 'bogus'.”
The regulator says it understands Ryanair is the only major airline flying from the UK to impose such a charge. Other carriers, it notes, offer to seat children next to a parent without a fee, or automatically allocate seats together during booking at no extra cost.
The investigation will examine whether the mandatory family seat fee is an unfair contract term under consumer law, and whether the cost is “dripped” during the booking process so that passengers are not shown the total price upfront.
Hayley Fletcher, the CMA’s director of consumer protection, said extra charges can quickly bump up the price for families saving for an affordable summer holiday. “Our investigation will consider Ryanair’s approach to family seat reservations and how the cost is presented to consumers to determine whether they comply with consumer law,” she said.
Ryanair has dismissed the inquiry as “bogus”, insisting its family seating policy “fully complies with all relevant laws”. In a statement, the airline said adults travelling with children pay one reserved seat fee, “but can select reserved seats beside them for up to four children on the same booking FREE OF CHARGE”. It added: “This means that parents travelling with children pay for only one (adult) reserved seat but pay nothing for the four other reserved seats for their children travelling with them.”
The carrier accused the watchdog of a “failed effort by the Starmer Govt to pretend it cares about consumers when it has failed to abolish APD [Air Passenger Duty] which would immediately deliver lower fares for all consumers”. It said it looks forward to “disproving these false CMA claims during this bogus investigation”.
The CMA stressed its investigation had just started and it had “reached no conclusions about whether Ryanair has broken the law”. If the regulator finds the terms are unfair, they are not legally binding on customers and the CMA can take enforcement action to stop their use.