Ryanair has announced that parents and guardians will be able to sit next to their children without incurring a seat charge.
“We will reluctantly adjust to this industry standard as we don’t want to waste time explaining to misguided regulators how badly they misunderstand what is in the best interest of UK and Europe’s consumers,” Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary said.
Ryanair has come under increasing pressure over its seating policy after the European Parliament and member states agreed that airlines would be forced to drop fees on parents and carers of people with disabilities in an update to the EU’s passenger rights regulation.
The British competition regulator, the CMA, was also investigating Ryanair’s seating policy.
Ryanair said from now, “adults travelling with children, who do not wish to select or pay for a reserved seat, will be advised of their (free of charge) seat allocation after they have checked in for their flight, as is the case with most other airlines in Europe.”
The airline warned that families would likely be allocated seats at the back of the plane because they tend to be less frequently booked up by passengers who pay extra to choose a specific seat.
“Under our revised family seating policy, families may have to wait until after they have checked in to find out their seat allocation and are more likely to be seated at the rear of the cabin but at least the CMA will be able to claim they have done something for consumers, but sadly most consumers won’t notice,” Michael O’Leary claimed.