UK Competition Watchdog Probes Ryanair Over Parent Child Seating Charges

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has commenced an investigation into Ryanair regarding its practice of charging parents to sit alongside their children on flights. Ryanair's terms and conditions stipulate that a parent must sit with any child aged between two and 11 years.

This requirement is facilitated through what Ryanair designates as a "mandatory family seat", for which the parent incurs a fee, typically amounting to £8 for each leg of a journey, according to the watchdog.

Ryanair has dismissed the investigation as "bogus", asserting that its family seating policy adheres to all pertinent legal frameworks. The CMA's inquiry will determine if the airline's seat reservation strategy obliges parents to pay for the airline to meet its child safety and disability-related duties, as mandated by aviation regulations and consumer law.

Conversely, Ryanair maintains that adults travelling with children pay for one reserved seat, but can then select up to four additional reserved seats for children on the same booking at no extra cost. The airline expressed confidence in refuting what it termed these "false CMA claims" during the investigation.