The UK's competition watchdog has launched an investigation into Ryanair over charges it imposes on parents to sit next to their child – a fee the airline has branded “bogus” and a failed attempt by the government to pretend it cares about consumers.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was examining whether the airline’s policy, which typically leads to a charge of £8 each way, is “unfair” under consumer law. Ryanair’s terms and conditions state that a parent must sit with a child aged between two and 11, enforced through what the airline calls a “mandatory family seat” that the parent must pay for.
“CMA investigates Ryanair over £8 fees for parents to sit with children; airline calls probe 'bogus'”
Ryanair immediately pushed back, insisting its family seating policy “fully complies with all relevant laws”. In a statement, the airline claimed that 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 CMA, however, said it understood that Ryanair was the only major airline flying from the UK to impose such a charge. Other airlines offer to seat children next to a parent without a fee or allocate seats together automatically during booking for free.
Hayley Fletcher, the CMA’s director of consumer protection, said extra charges can quickly bump up the price for families saving up 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 added.
The watchdog said it would also examine whether the mandatory family seat fee is “dripped” during the booking process – meaning the full cost is not shown upfront – and whether consumers are presented with the total price they will pay.
Ryanair dismissed the entire probe as “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 added: “Ryanair looks forward to disproving these false CMA claims during this bogus investigation.”
The CMA emphasised that the investigation had just started and it had “reached no conclusions about whether Ryanair has broken the law”. For now, families booking flights face uncertainty over whether the cost of sitting together will add to the price of their holiday.