Starting September 1st, a Ryanair initiative introduces the mandatory reservation of seats for accompanying adults of children (free under 12).
Ryanair, the low-cost Irish airline, has announced a new policy regarding seat reservations. All adults traveling with children must make a reservation. Free for children under 12.
The new policy takes effect on September 1st and, reading between the lines, it suggests that the airline is pushing for seat reservations, which for adults are obviously paid. This obligation is concealed by the fact that children under 12 can travel free but effectively secures a new income stream for the low-cost airline.
Ryanair justifies this change with a press release:
Ryanair introduces this new policy after an intense summer season that saw the majority of its flights fully booked (94% load factor), during which many families traveling with children did not reserve seats, resulting in random seat assignments that are not always close to the parent (this is due to many Ryanair customers already using the seat reservation service).
Cabin crew assisted families in repositioning customers traveling with young children, but this caused a slowdown in boarding procedures. However, the Ryanair crew cannot ask customers who paid for seat selection to move for others who, despite traveling with young children, decided not to use the service and rely on random seat assignment.
The aim is to avoid confusion and reduce workload for the already busy flight attendants. However, it is clear to the attentive eye that through this “new” policy that enforces the obligation, Ryanair secures additional liquidity, further enriching its already wealthy coffers. Moreover, Ryanair stated that most adults traveling with minors do not reserve a seat, which translates from September 1st into an increased ticket cost.
Pubblicato in Flights and Airlines
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