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Join Which? TravelRyanair ‘reluctantly’ lets parents sit next to their children for free
After eight years of Which? pressure - and an investigation from the CMA - the airline gives in
Ryanair has finally accepted that it can’t keep charging parents to sit next to their own children.
Last year, Which? reported the airline's family-booking policy to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), arguing that it’s unfair that parents must pay an additional fee to sit next to children as young as three. It also makes fares much less transparent.
On 11 June, the CMA announced it was investigating whether Ryanair’s policy was ‘unfair’. It was particularly concerned about parents of disabled children being charged to sit next to them.
It also said it was investigating whether the fee is ‘dripped’ during the booking process, as stronger laws against drip pricing came into force last year.
On 25 June this year, Ryanair caved in and announced that it would change its policy. Boss Michael O’Leary said that it would ‘reluctantly adjust to this industry standard’.
Eight years of pushing Ryanair to do the right thing
We first contacted Ryanair to point out that its seating policy was unfair in 2018.
At the time, it claimed: ‘Ryanair’s family seating policy is very clear and requires families (with children under 12) to sit together, with one adult taking a reserved seat for just £6, and the children given free of charge reserved seats.’
We wrote about the policy many times over the years. When we contacted Ryanair again in 2024 it flatly denied that it charges parents to sit with children. It told us:
‘We don’t charge ‘parents’ to sit with children. Rather the child seats are provided free of charge when they sit beside one parent, who must reserve a seat for a fee of €4.’
In 2025, we reported Ryanair’s policy to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The Which? role in making sure families sit together - and everyone is safe
Seat allocation for children is an issue Which? has been involved in for nearly a decade - and we have made much progress. Back then, incredibly, some airlines would seat children as young as three separately from their parents. Legally, children under the age of 12 could be seated rows away from their parents.
Our investigation at the time pointed out that this was at best unwise and at worst fatal. As Dai Whittingham, Chief Executive of the UK Flight Safety Committee, told us ‘‘In an emergency situation, anyone will try to get to their loved ones, even if it involves clambering over others, impeding the evacuation and putting lives at risk.’
We publicly made the point that any airline seating children separately from parents is putting its profits ahead of passenger safety. Since then all major airlines have confirmed that they will seat children next to or at least near their parents.
Other issues with Ryanair fares
Charging parents to sit with children as young as free may have been one of the most egregious of Ryanair’s charges, but it’s not the only one that we think is unfair.
Here’s how to avoid paying more than you should on your next Ryanair flight.
