Ryanair has changed its family seating policy to allow parents to sit next to their young children without paying a seat reservation fee, according to the BBC. This update follows an investigation opened into the airline’s previous policy.

Policy Update for Families

Adults traveling with children who do not wish to pay for a reserved seat will now be informed of their free seat allocation after check-in, as stated by Ryanair. The airline claimed this aligns with most other European carriers.

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary said the company would “reluctantly adjust to this industry standard,” but emphasized that its previous policy fully complied with laws and provided families with “certainty.”

CMA Investigation

This comes after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced it was investigating whether the previous policy was unfair under consumer law. The CMA said it would test if the airline’s new seating policy complies with the law and confirmed that its investigation is ongoing.

Under the old policy, Ryanair said adults traveling with children paid one reserved seat fee, and could select seats beside them for up to four children for free. This typically led to a fee of £8 each way, the CMA noted when it launched its investigation earlier this month.

The CMA had stated it was examining 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.”

Other airlines offered to seat children next to a parent or guardian without a fee, or automatically allocate seats together during booking for free, the CMA added. Ryanair said its policy had given families certainty of where they would be sitting at the time of booking, which customers had valued.

Policy Adjustment

The airline said the “free parent seats” will now be available at the back of the aircraft, as front rows tend to be reserved. The “minor policy tweak” came into effect on Thursday, it said. Ryanair does not expect the change to impact its revenue.

O’Leary criticized the CMA for targeting its family seating policy, which he said had been “universally embraced by consumers as the most progressive and transparent in Europe.” He claimed the CMA was pushing for Ryanair to adopt a less transparent and less consumer-friendly family seating policy applied by most other airlines, simply because it’s the industry standard.

A CMA spokesperson said: “Ryanair claims its seating policy now complies with the law, and we’ll test that thoroughly. If true, it’s a win for families – who will no longer have to pay to sit with their children, and it shows the impact our new powers are having.”

“But it doesn’t change the fact families have been paying for ‘mandatory family seats’. Our investigation remains ongoing.”

Consumer rights body Which?, who had previously highlighted Ryanair’s seating policy, said it should not have had to report the “unjustified charges” to the CMA to prompt action. Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: “It’s clear Ryanair is unhappy about being dragged into doing the right thing, so Which? will be monitoring the implications of this policy and whether all parents are seated next to their children without charge over the next few months.”