The Competition and Markets Authority (Cma), the British competition authority, has launched an investigation into the low-cost airline Ryanair to clarify the fee of 8 pounds (equal to 9.27 euros) that parents have to pay to be able to sit on flights next to their children. In particular, the Antitrust wants to understand whether consumer legislation is violated with this practice.
The rate for parents
According to the conditions of the Irish airline, at least one parent must sit next to children aged between 2 and 11 during the flight, but the “mandatory family seat” must be paid for separately. This comes despite Ryanair’s website claiming to offer “free reserved seats for children under 12”. The CMA, as explained in the official note, is verifying whether this fee of almost 10 euros per flight is in line with consumer protection regulations, while seat reservation remains optional for other passengers. This practice is prohibited in Italy, but according to the Authority it is “used on the majority of Ryanair routes departing from the United Kingdom”.
Ryanair’s reply
The Irish company called the investigation “specious” in a statement sent to AFP: “We fully comply with all applicable laws and regulations. The company does not charge for up to four child seats in the same booking. Parents only have to pay for one reserved seat for one adult. This investigation is a failed attempt by the Starmer government to pretend it cares about consumers, when it has failed to abolish the Air Passenger Duty which would immediately guarantee lower fares for all consumers and growth for British aviation”.
The British Antitrust investigation
According to the Competition and Markets Authority, however, Ryanair is the only major airline departing from the United Kingdom to apply this type of fare, which is not always requested: “In a limited number of cases, parents can be seated next to their children without additional costs”. The regulator, which will provide an update on the status of the investigation within six months, says it has currently “drawn no conclusions as to whether or not Ryanair has breached the law”. Violations of consumer protection laws can result in fines of up to 10% of a company’s global revenue.