Introduction: Ryanair’s fees to seat parents with children under investigation
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
Budget airline Ryanair is facing an investigation of the charges that parents must pay to sit with their children on flights.
Britain’s competition authority is investigating whether Ryanair is imposing an unfair contract term under consumer law, by insisting that parents (or indeed any adult) pay £8 for a reserved seat, to guarantee that their children sit with them.
The CMA says this morning:
Ryanair’s terms and conditions require at least one parent to sit with their children aged 2-11 when they fly. This is done through what Ryanair calls a “mandatory family seat”, which the parent must pay for in order to secure a seat next to them for their child.
For all other passengers, reserving a seat is optional. This fee applies to both outbound and return flights and typically costs around £8 each way. CMA evidence suggests this approach to seating is used across the majority of Ryanair’s UK routes.
The investigation will examing whether parents are being unfairly charged for Ryanair to meet its child safety and disability‑related obligations as set out under aviation rules.
The CMA suggests that Ryanair is the only major airline flying out of the UK to impose this charge; others will seat children with a parent or guardian without the need for a paid-for adult seat reservation, or allocate seats together automatically for free during the booking process.
The regulator will also look into whether this is an example of ‘drip’ pricing, where extra charges pop up during a booking process.
The agenda
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Noon BST: Turkey interest rate decision
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1.15pm BST: European Central Bank interest rate decision
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1.30pm BST: US weekly jobless claims
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1.45pm BST: European Central Bank press conference
Key events
China’s Jingye Steel asks UK for compensation for British Steel takeover
China’s Jingye Steel is seeking compensation from the UK government over the takeover, and future nationalisation, of British Steel.
Jingye Steel wants Britain to compensate it for the loss incurred through its investment in British Steel, which the UK government took operational control of in April 2025.
In a statement on WeChat, the company says:
“Jingye has recently initiated consultation procedures under the bilateral investment treaty with the UK government.”
Last month’s King’s Speech included plans for a Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill, to safeguard the domestic production of steel.
Jingye bought British Steel out of receivership in 2020, but in 2025 it announced it would shut the steelworks at Scunthorpe, prompting Starmer to step in to seize control.
Jingye then began trying to recover hundreds of millions of pounds of loans it had made to the company, as well as compensation for the cost of upgrading British Steel’s equipment.
Elsewhere in the travel world, Heathrow has reported a drop in passengers in May as the Middle East crisis hits demand.
May passenger numbers at Heathrow were down by 1.2% year-on-year last month, with more than 7.1 million people travelling through the airport. That includes a 1.9% drop in UK passenger numbers.
Ryanair blasts ‘bogus’ investigation
Ryanair has responded to the CMA’s investigation into its child/adult seating policy, calling it ‘false’ and ‘bogus’.
The airline points out that it doesn’t charge children to sit with their parents and insisting it is complying with the law.
Here’s the statement:
Ryanair’s family seating policy fully complies with all relevant laws and regulations and saves families money when travelling on the UK’s lowest fare airline.
Ryanair DOES NOT charge any fee for children to sit beside their parent or accompanying adult. Like all adults who select a reserved seat, adults travelling with children pay one reserved seat fee, but can select reserved seats beside them for up to 4 children on the same booking FREE OF CHARGE. This means that parents travelling with children pay for only one (adult) reserved seat but pay nothing for the 4 other reserved seats for their children travelling with them.
This bogus CMA investigation is a failed effort by the Starmer Govt to pretend it cares about consumers when it has failed to abolish APD which would immediately deliver lower fares for all consumers and growth for the UK aviation, tourism and wider economy.
Ryanair looks forward to disproving these false CMA claims during this bogus investigation.
Ryanair’s family seat policy
You can see Ryanair’s Family Seat Policy online here.
It explains that up to four under-12s in a group can get a reserved seat for free – as long as they’re with an adult who has bought a reserved seat (for around £8, the CMA says).
The policy says:
For safety reasons, children under the age of 12 must sit beside an accompanying adult, and infants (aged 8 days to 23 months inclusive) must sit on an accompanying adult’s lap.
It is mandatory for an adult travelling with children under 12 (excl. infants) to reserve a seat. A maximum of four children for every one adult on the same booking will receive a reserved seat free of charge. This ensures parents of young children sit together during the flight. This will also allow you to check-in for your flight 60 days before departure. It is not mandatory for any other adults or teenagers in the booking to reserve a seat, however they may choose to do so if they wish to seat with the rest of the family.
Hayley Fletcher, the CMA’s senior director of consumer protection, explains why the regulator is concerned about Ryanair’s pricing:
Lots of families save up to afford a summer holiday and we know that extra charges can quickly bump up the price.
Our investigation will consider Ryanair’s approach to family seat reservations and how the cost is presented to consumers to determine whether they comply with consumer law.
For the past year, we’ve told businesses to ensure their customers are shown the total price upfront – those who don’t face the very real possibility of action from the CMA.
Introduction: Ryanair’s fees to seat parents with children under investigation
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
Budget airline Ryanair is facing an investigation of the charges that parents must pay to sit with their children on flights.
Britain’s competition authority is investigating whether Ryanair is imposing an unfair contract term under consumer law, by insisting that parents (or indeed any adult) pay £8 for a reserved seat, to guarantee that their children sit with them.
The CMA says this morning:
Ryanair’s terms and conditions require at least one parent to sit with their children aged 2-11 when they fly. This is done through what Ryanair calls a “mandatory family seat”, which the parent must pay for in order to secure a seat next to them for their child.
For all other passengers, reserving a seat is optional. This fee applies to both outbound and return flights and typically costs around £8 each way. CMA evidence suggests this approach to seating is used across the majority of Ryanair’s UK routes.
The investigation will examing whether parents are being unfairly charged for Ryanair to meet its child safety and disability‑related obligations as set out under aviation rules.
The CMA suggests that Ryanair is the only major airline flying out of the UK to impose this charge; others will seat children with a parent or guardian without the need for a paid-for adult seat reservation, or allocate seats together automatically for free during the booking process.
The regulator will also look into whether this is an example of ‘drip’ pricing, where extra charges pop up during a booking process.
The agenda
-
Noon BST: Turkey interest rate decision
-
1.15pm BST: European Central Bank interest rate decision
-
1.30pm BST: US weekly jobless claims
-
1.45pm BST: European Central Bank press conference
