Ryanair has been forced into a reluctant U-turn on its family seating policy, scrapping the £8 fee it charged parents to sit next to their young children after the UK competition watchdog opened an investigation.
The airline’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, said it would “reluctantly adjust to this industry standard” but insisted its long-standing policy had fully complied with the law and given families “certainty”.
“Ryanair drops £8 fee for parents to sit next to children after CMA investigation”
The change, which took effect on Thursday, means adults travelling with children who do not want to pay for a reserved seat will now be told of their free seat allocation after check-in. The free seats will be at the back of the aircraft, as front rows tend to be reserved.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had launched an investigation earlier this month into whether the airline’s approach to seat reservations meant parents were being charged for the airline to meet its child safety and disability-related obligations under aviation rules. The CMA said it would test whether the new policy complies with the law and that its investigation continues.
Under the old policy, Ryanair said adults travelling with children paid one reserved seat fee and could select seats beside them for up to four children for free, typically costing £8 each way. The airline argued this gave families certainty of where they would be sitting at the time of booking, which they had valued.
O’Leary hit out at the CMA for targeting its family seating policy, which he said had been “universally embraced by consumers as the most progressive and transparent in Europe”. He accused the regulator of forcing Ryanair to adopt a “less transparent and less consumer-friendly family seating policy applied by most other airlines – just because it’s the industry standard”.
A CMA spokesperson countered: “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. But it doesn’t change the fact families have been paying for ‘mandatory family…”
Ryanair said it does not expect the change to have an effect on its revenue. The airline’s policy now brings it in line with most other European airlines, which offer to seat children next to a parent or guardian without a fee, or allocate seats together automatically during booking for free.