Ryanair is under investigation by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) over charges imposed on parents who wish to sit next to their children during flights.
The CMA is examining whether Ryanair’s family seating policy may breach consumer protection rules. Under the airline’s terms and conditions, children aged 2 to 11 must be seated with a parent or guardian. The regulator is investigating whether requiring parents to pay a seat reservation fee—typically around £8 per flight segment—to fulfil that requirement could be considered unfair.
The watchdog is also assessing whether the charge is presented transparently during the booking process or is added later as a so-called “drip pricing” practice, potentially preventing consumers from seeing the full cost upfront.
According to the CMA, Ryanair appears to be the only major airline operating from the UK that charges for guaranteed parent-child seating. Other airlines generally seat children with accompanying adults free of charge or automatically allocate adjacent seats during booking.
Ryanair strongly rejected the allegations, describing the investigation as “bogus“. The airline said that only one adult in a family booking pays a reserved-seat fee and that up to four accompanying children can then be assigned adjacent seats free of charge. It maintains that its policy complies fully with applicable aviation and consumer laws.
The investigation remains at an early stage, and the CMA has stressed that it has not reached any conclusions regarding whether Ryanair has broken the law.
Consumer group Which? welcomed the inquiry, arguing that families should not be required to pay additional fees to ensure young children can sit with their parents.
The case forms part of the CMA’s broader effort to tackle hidden fees and improve price transparency for consumers. Under its strengthened powers, the regulator can impose fines of up to 10% of a company’s global turnover for breaches of consumer law.
Source: BBC