A family of four booking a flight with Ryanair might find themselves paying an extra £16 just to sit together – and the UK's competition regulator wants to know if that is legal. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an investigation into the budget airline's policy of charging parents a fee – typically £8 each way – to reserve a seat next to their child aged 2 to 11. Ryanair says it is complying with the law and has called the investigation “bogus”, but the CMA believes the airline may be the only major carrier flying from the UK to impose such a charge.
The issue centres on what Ryanair calls a “mandatory family seat”. According to the airline's terms and conditions, at least one parent must sit with any child aged 2-11, including children with disabilities. To guarantee this, the parent must pay a seat reservation fee – between about £4 and £12 each way, typically £8 – for themselves. Ryanair says adults travelling with children pay only one reserved seat fee and can then select reserved seats beside them for up to four children free of charge. The CMA, however, sees it differently: the regulator argues that the fee effectively charges parents for the airline to meet its own safety and disability obligations under aviation rules.
“Why the UK's competition regulator is investigating Ryanair's charge for parents to sit with children.”
The background to this investigation lies in UK consumer law, specifically the rules on unfair contract terms. A term is considered unfair if it creates a significant imbalance between the rights of the business and the rights of the consumer, to the consumer’s detriment. The CMA is examining whether making parents pay extra to sit with their young children – when other airlines do it for free – tilts the contract unfairly in Ryanair’s favour. The regulator also wants to check whether the fee is “dripped” into the booking process so that customers do not see the total price until late in the purchase. Ryanair, for its part, insists its policy is fully compliant and blames the government for not cutting Air Passenger Duty, which it says would lower fares for everyone.
For UK readers, the practical impact is immediate: if you fly Ryanair with children aged 2-11, you will likely have to pay around £8 each way to sit with them. The CMA notes that other major airlines, including British Airways, easyJet and Wizz Air, automatically seat children next to a parent or guardian without a fee, or offer free seat selection for families. For a family booking two return flights, the Ryanair charge adds up to £32 or more – money that families saving for a summer holiday might not have budgeted for. The investigation also raises broader questions about transparency: should customers be told the full cost upfront, or can extra mandatory fees be hidden until later in the booking?
Q: Do I have to pay to sit next to my child on Ryanair? Yes, if you book a flight with Ryanair and your child is aged 2-11, the airline requires at least one parent to sit with them. To guarantee this, you must pay a seat reservation fee for the parent – typically £8 each way – though Ryanair says it does not charge for the child’s seat.
Q: Why is the CMA investigating Ryanair? The Competition and Markets Authority is investigating whether Ryanair’s mandatory family seat fee is an unfair contract term under consumer law. The regulator believes the airline may be charging parents for something it is already obliged to do under aviation safety rules, and wants to check that the fee is not “dripped” into the booking process without clear upfront pricing.
Q: What other airlines charge for family seating? According to the CMA, Ryanair is the only major airline flying from the UK that imposes a charge for parents to sit next to their children. Other carriers, such as British Airways, easyJet and Wizz Air, offer free seat allocation for families or allow parents to reserve seats beside their children without paying extra.
What happens next depends on the outcome of the CMA’s investigation, which it says has only just begun. The regulator has not reached any conclusions yet about whether Ryanair has broken the law. If the CMA decides the fee is unfair, it can take enforcement action – including ordering Ryanair to stop the practice or demanding changes to its booking process. Ryanair has vowed to “disprove these false CMA claims” and says it will cooperate with the inquiry. For now, passengers booking with Ryanair should expect to see the fee appear during checkout, and families may want to compare total costs with other airlines before booking.