Travel expert Simon Calder has issued a stark six-word warning to anyone going abroad with children: "It could get very messy indeed." The comment comes as Ryanair faces a probe over its policy of charging parents to sit with their children.
Calder Explains the Investigation on GB News
Appearing on GB News's Britain's Newsroom with Andrew Pierce and Miriam Cates, Calder outlined the current situation. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) requires airlines to seat parents and children together, ideally in the same row, or in the row behind or ahead. Calder noted that major airlines like British Airways, easyJet, and Jet2 do this automatically at no extra charge. However, Ryanair operates differently.
"Ryanair does things differently," Calder said. "They have long said that at least one parent must pay for a seat. Once you've done that, and that can be pretty much anything, up from about £8, you can then sit up to four children next to you at no extra cost."
CMA Investigation into Drip Pricing
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is now investigating whether this practice is unfair. Calder explained: "The CMA says the underlying rule is that you should be able to buy a flight at the price cited by the website. If you see a flight from Edinburgh to Bournemouth for £15, you should be able to buy that without paying extra, as long as you're happy with a small piece of cabin baggage and don't mind where you sit."
"But if you're a parent and a child, the parent will need to spend an extra £8 on a specific seat, increasing the cost by more than 50%." The CMA believes Ryanair may be the only UK-outbound airline imposing such charges. The investigation will also examine whether the fee constitutes drip pricing, where the full cost is not clearly shown upfront. This practice is prohibited in the UK, as businesses must present the total price, including all unavoidable fees, from the outset.
Calder warned that if the CMA decides the policy is unfair, "you could be in the position of tens of millions of families thinking, 'oh, we can get our money back' – it could get very messy indeed."
