Ryanair will now allow parents to sit next to their young children without paying a seat reservation fee, the airline announced Thursday, after the United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority opened an investigation into whether the practice violated consumer law. The BBC reported the change came into effect Thursday.
Under the old policy, adults traveling with children paid one reserved seat fee and could select seats beside up to four children for free. The Competition and Markets Authority said this typically resulted in a fee of £8 each way. The agency said it was examining whether the policy meant parents were being charged for the airline to meet its child safety and disability-related obligations under aviation rules.
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary said the company would "reluctantly adjust to this industry standard" but insisted the long-standing policy had fully complied with laws and had given families certainty about where they would be sitting at the time of booking.
Adults traveling with children who do not wish to pay for a reserved seat will now be told of their free seat allocation after check-in. Ryanair said the free parent seats will be available at the back of the aircraft, as front rows tend to be reserved. The airline described the change as a minor policy tweak and said it does not expect the change to have an effect on its revenue.
O'Leary pushed back against the CMA's investigation. "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. He had previously described the old policy as having been "universally embraced by consumers as the most progressive and transparent in Europe."
The CMA said it would test whether the new policy actually complies with the law. "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," a CMA spokesperson said. "But it doesn't change the fact families have been paying for 'mandatory family seats'. Our investigation remains ongoing."
The investigation continues regardless of the policy change.
