Ryanair 'reluctantly' change policy charging parents to sit next to children

Ryanair has adjusted its family seating policy after an investigation was launched into it charging parents to sit with their children on flights.

The airline said the “minor policy tweak” means “free parent seats” will be available in the rear of its aircraft for future bookings.

All children on the booking will be allocated seats alongside them for no fee.

Earlier this month, watchdog the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had opened an investigation to determine whether Ryanair’s policy at the time was “in line with consumer law”.

Ryanair previously required parents travelling with children aged between two and 11 to pay to reserve what it referred to as a mandatory family seat.

Their children were then allocated seats next to or near them free of charge.

The fee for a mandatory family seat was typically about £8 each way, the CMA said.

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary accused the CMA of being ‘misguided’ (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Media

Under the new policy, parents will still have the option of paying to reserve a seat of their choosing, and have their children alongside them free of charge.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary accused the CMA of “turning a blind eye” to the “high fares” charged by airlines on routes with no competition from the Dublin-based carrier.

He said: “The CMA has now targeted our family seating policy which has 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.

“We will reluctantly adjust to this industry standard as we don’t want to waste time explaining to misguided regulators how badly they misunderstand what is in the best interest of UK and Europe’s consumers.

“Under our revised family seating policy, families may have to wait until after they have checked in to find out their seat allocation and are more likely to be seated at the rear of the cabin but at least the CMA will be able to claim they have done something for consumers, but sadly most consumers won’t notice.”

Ryanair said the change will be “revenue neutral”.

Rory Boland, editor of consumer magazine Which? Travel, said: “It should never have required Which? to report Ryanair’s unfair seating policy to the CMA to prompt action on these unjustified charges.

“It was never fair to charge parents to sit next to children as young as three.

“It’s clear Ryanair is unhappy about being dragged into doing the right thing, so Which? will be monitoring the implications of this policy and whether all parents are seated next to their children without charge over the next few months.”

A CMA 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.

“But it doesn’t change the fact families have been paying for ‘mandatory family seats’. Our investigation remains ongoing.”

The CMA said Ryanair’s decision to change its policy was made at its own discretion.

The watchdog was given new enforcement powers in April last year.