Ryanair to force people with young children to pay for seat allocation

Ryanair has risked raising the ire of passengers after deciding to force any passenger travelling with children under 12 to pay for an allocated seat. The 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 Sept 1 adults travelling with children under 12 will have to pay to reserve a seat at a cost of GBP8. 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. <br/>