Ryanair has risked raising the ire of passengers after deciding to force passengers travelling with children under 12 to pay for an allocated seat.
The budget airline’s policy had been to allow ticket-holders to either take a randomly allocated seat or pay an additional charge to select one. However, from 1 September one adult per party travelling with children under 12 will have to pay to reserve a seat at a cost of £4. Any child under 12 will be allocated a reserved seat at no cost.
The airline said the move was intended to avoid “boarding issues” as cabin crew try to reseat adults and children who have been separated. Ryanair’s business model depends on a very rapid turnaround once a flight lands. Any delays to an aircraft being able to start its next journey mean it could miss a departure slot, creating knock-on delays.
Kenny Jacobs, chief marketing officer, said the change would allow families to select their preferred seats when they book and ensure 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,” he said.
After holding off from introducing allocated seating for as long as possible, Ryanair finally admitted defeat in 2014 and followed in the footsteps of rival easyJet. The move was partly a reaction to Ryanair being named by Which? readers as the worst brand for customer service the previous year.
Chief executive Michael O’Leary promised the airline would no longer “unnecessarily piss people off” as it embarked on a major overhaul of its image and business. Other changes included relaxing cabin bag restrictions, reducing charges and loosening booking conditions. The airline also revamped its website, introduced a mobile app and announced plans to fly to more primary airports rather than those many miles from the cities they claimed to serve in a bid to broaden its appeal.
Despite the economic uncertainly created by the UK vote to leave the EU, Ryanair said this week that it remained on track to post a record annual profit. The airline – Europe’s largest by passenger numbers – expected to make a profit of as much as £1.2bn for the year to March 2017.
The forecast was in marked contrast to easyJet, which said last week that it could not give a profit forecast in the aftermath of the Brexit vote, the attack in Nice and an attempted coup in Turkey. Germany’s Lufthansa has also issued a profit warning.