Ryanair has scrapped its £8 fee for parents to sit next to their young children after the UK competition watchdog opened an investigation into the policy.
The airline, which had typically charged adults £8 each way to reserve seats beside their children, now says it will allocate free seats for families at check-in. The change, which came into effect on Thursday, brings Ryanair in line with most other European airlines, the company admitted.
“Ryanair drops £8 fee for parents to sit with children after CMA investigation”
Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s chief executive, said the airline would “reluctantly adjust to this industry standard”, but insisted the previous policy had been lawful and gave families “certainty” about where they would sit when booking. He described the shift as a “minor policy tweak” and said it would not affect revenue.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched its investigation earlier this month, questioning whether Ryanair’s approach “may mean parents are being charged for the airline to meet its child safety and disability‑related obligations as set out under aviation rules”. At the time, the CMA said other airlines offered to seat children next to a parent without a fee or allocated seats together automatically during booking.
O’Leary hit out at the regulator, saying the previous policy had been “universally embraced by consumers as the most progressive and transparent in Europe”. He accused the CMA of being “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.”
The CMA said it would test whether Ryanair’s new seating policy complies with the law, and 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.”
Under the new system, parents who do not wish to pay for reserved seats will be told of their free allocation after check-in. The seats will be at the back of the aircraft, as front rows tend to be reserved.