Ryanair investigated over charging parents to sit with children

Ryanair is being investigated by the UK’s competition regulator over charging parents to sit with their children on the budget airline’s flights.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it will determine whether the practice is “in line with consumer law”.

Ryanair requires at least one parent to sit with their children aged between two and 11, and ensures this through what the carrier calls a mandatory family set, typically costing £8 each way, the CMA said.

Paying to reserve a seat is optional for 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”.

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 flying with a parent without the need for a paid reservation, or automatically allocate seats together during booking, the CMA said.

The investigation will also examine whether Ryanair’s mandatory family seat fee is a form of “drip pricing”, which is when a business does not reveal all unavoidable charges upfront – only revealing them much later in the checkout process.

This practice was banned under a new law that came into effect in April last year, although the CMA said it is at the beginning of its investigation and has “reached no conclusions about whether Ryanair has broken the law”.

Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary. / Credit: PA

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.”

Describing the CMA’s investigation as “bogus”, a Ryanair spokesperson said: “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.

“Ryanair DOES NOT charge any fee for children to sit beside their parent or accompanying adult.

“Like all adults who select a reserved seat, 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.

“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.”