Parents planning on flying Ryanair with the kids this September will face an extra charge. The airline has announced it will now require all adults travelling with children under 12-years-old to purchase a reserved seat.
Under current rules, frugal passengers can opt to have their seats randomly allocated throughout the aircraft. When the changes come in however, all parents will need to reserve a seat, and pay an extra £8 for the privilege.
Ryanair says the new system is an attempt to solve boarding issues, which frequently leave air crew struggling to seat parents and their children together when their allocated seats are in different parts of the plane.
While some parents resigned themselves to shelling out more to guarantee their brood is close-by while flying, many others were outraged by the decision.
How about seating young families together for free rather than exploiting them? ? https://t.co/iYHQthO82d
— Stephanie Twomey (@stephytwomey) July 28, 2016
Good old @Ryanair continuing the rip off. Charging parents £8 each to sit with their children.
— Dave Webb (@DaveWebby42) July 28, 2016
Ryanair’s chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs says Ryanair customers are still making savings, despite the new charge: “Ryanair is Europe’s number one airline for families and this summer all customers are enjoying fares that are 10% lower than last year. he said.
“That’s a €4 (£3.37) saving on every flight and these changes will allow parents to save another €4 for every one of their children travelling together.
“It will also allow families to select their preferred seats at the time of booking, check-in for their flights up to 30 days prior to departure and fly safe in the knowledge that they are getting Europe’s lowest air fares, while ensuring that they always sit with their children.
“This will also prevent other customers who have chosen to purchase a seat of their own from being displaced on board.”
Do you agree with Ryanair’s new policy? Let us know on Twitter @HerFamilydotie.
