Madison Burgess
Ryanair has ‘reluctantly’ changed its family seating policy to allow parents to sit next to their young children without paying a reservation fee.
It comes after an investigation was opened earlier this month by watchdog the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), to determine whether the airline’s policy at the time was ‘in line with consumer law’.
Before the changes, parents travelling with children aged between two and 11 previously had to fork out a fee to reserve what it referred to as a mandatory family seat, which typically cost about £8 each way.
It allowed for adults travelling with little ones to pay for one reserved seat and then were able to select seats next to them for up to four kids for free.
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But, Ryanair today (25 June) announced a ‘minor tweak’ to the rules allow parents flying with young children to avoid the £8 fee.
The company confirmed that ‘free parent seats’ will now be available in the rear of its aircraft for future bookings, and all children on the booking will be allocated seats alongside them for no fee.
However, Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary has 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.”
O’Leary added: “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.”
While Rory Boland, editor of consumer magazine Which? Travel, argued: “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.”
And a CMA spokesperson added: “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 that families have been paying for ‘mandatory family seats’. Our investigation remains ongoing.”
The CMA added that Ryanair’s decision to change its policy was made at its own discretion.