Ryanair is under investigation by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) over its practice of charging parents to sit with their children on flights. The watchdog will determine whether the airline's policy is in line with consumer law.
CMA Investigation Details
The CMA said Ryanair requires at least one parent traveling with children aged between two and 11 to pay for a reserved seat, which the airline calls a mandatory family seat. Children are then allocated seats next to or near the parent free of charge. The fee for a mandatory family seat is typically around £8 each way, according to the CMA. Children under two must sit on a parent's lap.
The investigation will also examine whether Ryanair's mandatory family seat fee is dripped during the booking process, meaning the airline does not initially present customers with all unavoidable charges. The CMA emphasized it is at the beginning of its investigation and has reached no conclusions about whether Ryanair has broken the law.
Ryanair's Response
Ryanair described the investigation as bogus and a failed effort by the Starmer Government to pretend it cares about consumers. The airline stated that its family seating policy fully complies with all relevant laws and regulations and saves families money when traveling on the UK's lowest fare airline. Ryanair added that it does not charge any fee for children to sit beside their parent, and parents traveling with children pay for only one adult reserved seat. The airline looks forward to disproving the false CMA claims.
Consumer Impact
Hayley Fletcher, senior director of consumer protection at the CMA, said that lots of families save up to afford a summer holiday and that extra charges can quickly bump up the price. The 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. Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, encouraged Ryanair to stop charging these unreasonable fees immediately.
The CMA is an independent non-ministerial Government department funded by the Treasury. Other major airlines flying out of the UK do not impose this charge, instead offering to seat children beside a parent without the need for a paid adult reservation or automatically allocating seats together during booking.
