Ryanair has scrapped its charge for parents to sit next to their young children on flights, bowing to pressure from Britain's competition watchdog after an investigation was opened into the policy.
The low-cost airline had typically charged adults £8 each way to guarantee a seat beside their child, a fee the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said appeared to be the only one of its kind among large airlines flying out of the UK.
“Ryanair ends £8 fee for parents to sit with children after CMA investigation, but says it is reluctantly adopting an industry standard.”
Under the new policy, which came into effect on Thursday, families who do not wish to pay for reserved seats will be allocated free seats together after check-in – but at the rear of the aircraft, as front rows tend to be reserved. Ryanair described it as a “minor policy tweak” and said it did not expect any impact on revenue.
The change came just two weeks after Ryanair angrily dismissed the CMA’s investigation as “bogus”. But on Thursday, the airline’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, said it would “reluctantly adjust to this industry standard”, while insisting its long-standing policy had been “universally embraced by consumers as the most progressive and transparent in Europe”.
“Instead of promoting competitiveness and lower fares for consumers, the CMA is on a mission to force Ryanair to adopt the less transparent and less consumer-friendly family seating policy applied by most other airlines – just because it’s the industry standard,” O’Leary said, accusing the watchdog of “turning a blind eye” to high fares on routes where Ryanair faces no competition.
The CMA said it would test whether the new seating policy complies with the law and that its investigation continues. A spokesperson said: “Ryanair claims its seating policy now complies with the law, and we’ll test that thoroughly. If true, it’s a win for families – who will no longer have to pay to sit with their children – and it shows the impact our new powers are having.”