Ryanair is being investigated by the UK competition watchdog over charging parents to sit with their children on flights.
CMA Investigation
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it will determine whether the practice adheres to consumer law. The airline, however, has described the investigation as “bogus” and a “failed effort by the Starmer Government to pretend it cares about consumers”.
Under Ryanair's policy, parents travelling with children aged between two and 11 are required to pay to reserve what the company calls a "mandatory family seat." Following this payment, typically about £8 each way, their children are then allocated seats next to or near them free of charge. Children under two years old must sit on their parent’s lap during Ryanair flights, while reserving a seat remains optional for all other passengers.
The CMA said it is investigating whether Ryanair’s approach means “parents are being charged for the airline to meet its child safety and disability-related obligations as set out under aviation rules”.
Industry Context
Ryanair is “the only major airline flying out of the UK to impose this charge”, according to the watchdog. Other carriers offer to seat children beside a parent without the need for a paid adult reservation, or automatically allocate seats together during booking, the CMA said.
The investigation will also examine whether Ryanair’s mandatory family seat fee is dripped during the booking process, which is when a business does not initially present customers with all unavoidable charges.
The CMA added it is at the beginning of its investigation and has “reached no conclusions about whether Ryanair has broken the law”.
Statements
Hayley Fletcher, senior director of consumer protection at the CMA, said: “Lots of families save up to afford a summer holiday and we know that extra charges can quickly bump up the price. Our 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. For the past year, we’ve told businesses to ensure their customers are shown the total price upfront – those who don’t face the very real possibility of action from the CMA.”
Rory Boland, editor of consumer magazine Which? Travel, said: “Ryanair doesn’t have to wait for the outcome of the CMA’s investigation. It could stop charging these unreasonable fees today and we would encourage them to do that.”
Ryanair said in a statement: “Ryanair’s family seating policy fully complies with all relevant laws and regulations, and saves families money when travelling on the UK’s lowest fare airline.” It said it “does not charge any fee for children to sit beside their parent”, and “parents travelling with children pay for only one (adult) reserved seat”.
It added: “This bogus CMA investigation is a failed effort by the Starmer Government to pretend it cares about consumers when it has failed to abolish APD (air passenger duty) which would immediately deliver lower fares for all consumers and growth for the UK aviation, tourism and wider economy. Ryanair looks forward to disproving these false CMA claims.”
The CMA is an independent non-ministerial Government department, funded by the Treasury.
