Ryanair is facing an investigation due to a fee it charges a parent to sit with their child on a flight.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was looking into whether the airline’s policy, which the watchdog said typically led to a fee of £8 each way, was “unfair” under consumer law.
It said Ryanair’s terms and conditions state a parent must sit with their child if aged between two years and 11.
This is done through what the airline calls a “mandatory family seat” that the parent must pay a fee for.
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Ryanair called the investigation “bogus” and insisted its family seating policy “fully complies with all relevant laws”.
The airline said that it does not charge any fee for children to sit beside their parent or accompanying adult.
However, parents and guardians must pay a booking fee to be seated next to them, The Guardian reports.
Why is Ryanair being investigated?
The CMA is 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”.
The watchdog said it understood that Ryanair was the only major airline flying from the UK to impose such a charge, BBC News reports.
It said other airlines offered to seat children next to a parent or guardian without a fee, or allocate seats together automatically during booking for free.
The CMA added that its investigation had just started, and it had “reached no conclusions about whether Ryanair has broken the law”.
Ryanair said adults travelling with children pay one reserved seat fee, “but can select reserved seats beside them for up to four children on the same booking FREE OF CHARGE”.
In a statement, the airline said: “This means that parents travelling with children pay for only one (adult) reserved seat but pay nothing for the four other reserved seats for their children travelling with them.
“This bogus CMA investigation is a failed effort by the Starmer Govt 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 during this bogus investigation.”
Consumer rights body Which? welcomed the investigation.
Rory Boland, travel editor at Which?, said: “Which? has repeatedly highlighted Ryanair’s harsh approach to separating families and making parents pay a fee to sit next to children as young as three, so it’s good to see the regulator investigating the airline’s behaviour.”
He added: “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.”
What’s your opinion on the Ryanair seating charge? Let us know in the comments.
