Anger over Ryanair child fee for mandatory reserved seat

Ryanair customers have expressed their anger after the airline announced that passengers travelling with a young child will have to pay extra for a reserved seat.

Under the carrier’s existing rules, all passengers can choose to save money by having their seats randomly allocated. However, the airline said this led to “boarding issues” as crews try to re-seat adults and children who have been separated.

From September, one adult in every booking with children under 12 will have to purchase a reserved seat, which will cost half the standard fee per flight. This could cost an extra €8 for a return flight.

Children under 12 will receive a reserved seat free of charge. Other adults on the same booking will not be affected by the change.

A Twitter message posted by the airline which claimed it was making it “simpler and cheaper to fly with children” was met with frustration by some travellers.

A user named Pamela, from Ireland, wrote: “This is a joke right? It isn’t cheaper. Just seat families together! No matter what age.”

However, some customers supported the measure. Paul Connor described it as a “good move”, adding: “Watching families give out when they can’t sit together really bugs me — book the seats!”

Ryanair’s chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs said: “We are reducing the cost of a child’s reserved seat to zero and making it mandatory for one adult in each family booking to buy a reserved seat at the time of booking, which will cost just €4.

“This will make flying with Ryanair even cheaper and more simple for all customers with young children, and guarantee that they will always be seated together.”