Ryanair 'reluctantly' scraps fee for parents to sit next to their children
Low cost airline criticises 'misguided regulators' for 'misunderstanding what is in the best interests of consumers'
Irish no-frills carrier Ryanair said Thursday that it would scrap a fee levied on parents wanting to sit next to their children after the added cost was probed by UK regulators.
"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 chief executive Michael O'Leary said in a statement.
The airline says the common industry practice means families often do not know their exact seats until reaching the gate, and are sometimes split up.
Ryanair previously required parents travelling with children aged two to 11 years old to pay to reserve what it called a mandatory family seat.
Children in their care were then allocated seats next to or near them free of charge.
The fee for a mandatory family seat was typically about £8 ($10.5) each way, according to the Competition and Markets Authority, which announced its inquiry earlier this month.
The CMA had yet to respond to Ryanair's action.
O'Leary said that "instead of promoting competitiveness and lower fares for consumers, the CMA is on a mission to force Ryanair to adopt the less transparent and less consumer-friendly family seating policy applied by most other airlines -- just because it's the industry standard".
Known for his fiery comments during 32 years as CEO of Ryanair, O'Leary earlier this month agreed to remain in the post until April 2032.