Ryanair says it will reluctantly not charge parents to sit next to children
Under the old policy, Ryanair said adults travelling with children paid one reserved seat fee, and could select seats beside them for up to four children for free.
This typically led to a fee of £8 each way, the CMA said when it launched its investigation earlier this month.
It said at the time it was looking at whether the airline's "approach to seat reservations may mean parents are being charged for the airline to meet its child safety and disability‑related obligations as set out under aviation rules – and will investigate to determine whether or not this practice is in line with consumer law".
Other airlines offered to seat children next to a parent or guardian without a fee, or allocate seats together automatically during booking for free, it added.
Ryanair said its policy had given families certainty of where they would be sitting at the time of booking, which they had valued.
It said the "free parent seats" will now be available at the back of the aircraft, as front rows tend to be reserved.
The "minor policy tweak" came into effect on Thursday, it said. It does not expect the change to have an effect on Ryanair's revenue.
O'Leary hit out at the CMA for targeting its family seating policy, which he said had 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," he said.
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Ryanair has changed its family seating policy after regulatory scrutiny. The airline previously charged parents a reserved seat fee (around £8 each way) to select seats next to their children, though children themselves sat free under that parent's booking. The CMA questioned whether this practice obligated parents to pay for airline compliance with child safety rules. Other carriers offered adjacent seating without extra cost or allocated seats automatically. Ryanair's new approach provides free parent-child seating at the rear of the aircraft, effective from Thursday. The airline characterises this as a minor adjustment and does not expect revenue impact. Ryanair's chief executive disputed the CMA's intervention, stating the previous policy had been well-received by consumers and arguing the regulator was pushing the airline toward less transparent industry-standard practices.
Read the full story at BBC ↗
Under the old policy, Ryanair said adults travelling with children paid one reserved seat fee, and could select seats beside them for up to four children for free.
This typically led to a fee of £8 each way, the CMA said when it launched its investigation earlier this month.
It said at the time it was looking at whether the airline's "approach to seat reservations may mean parents are being charged for the airline to meet its child safety and disability‑related obligations as set out under aviation rules – and will investigate to determine whether or not this practice is in line with consumer law".
Other airlines offered to seat children next to a parent or guardian without a fee, or allocate seats together automatically during booking for free, it added.
Ryanair said its policy had given families certainty of where they would be sitting at the time of booking, which they had valued.
It said the "free parent seats" will now be available at the back of the aircraft, as front rows tend to be reserved.
The "minor policy tweak" came into effect on Thursday, it said. It does not expect the change to have an effect on Ryanair's revenue.
O'Leary hit out at the CMA for targeting its family seating policy, which he said had 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," he said.
Read the full story at BBC ↗
Under Ryanair's previous policy, adults with children paid one reserved seat fee to select seats beside them for up to four children at no additional cost This fee typically amounted to £8 each way according to CMA figures The CMA launched an investigation to determine whether charging parents for seat selection breached consumer law, given that seating children next to parents may constitute an airline obligation under aviation safety rules Other airlines offered to seat children with parents without additional fees or allocated seats automatically during booking Ryanair's new policy allows free parent-child seating at the back of the aircraft Ryanair stated the change is a minor policy adjustment with no expected revenue impact Ryanair's chief executive called the previous policy 'the most progressive and transparent in Europe' He characterised the CMA's investigation as part of a mission to force the airline toward less consumer-friendly industry-standard practices rather than promoting competitiveness and lower fares
Read the full story at BBC ↗
- Ryanair will stop charging parents to sit next to their children following a UK Competition and Markets Authority investigation
- Previously, parents paid one reserved seat fee (typically £8 each way) to guarantee seats beside up to four children
- Free parent-child seating will now be available at the back of aircraft; the airline says this is a minor policy change with no expected revenue impact