Ryanair 'reluctantly' agrees to let parents sit with children for free

Ryanair said its policy had given families certainty of where they would be sitting at the time of booking, which they had valued.It said the "free parent seats" will now be available at the back of the aircraft, as front rows tend to be reserved.The "minor policy tweak" came into effect on Thursday, it said. It does not expect the change to have an effect on Ryanair's revenue.O'Leary hit out at the CMA for targeting its family seating policy, which he said had been "universally embraced by consumers as the most progressive and transparent in Europe"."Instead of promoting competitiveness and lower fares for consumers, the CMA is on a mission to force Ryanair to adopt the less transparent and less consumer-friendly family seating policy applied by most other airlines – just because it's the industry standard," he said.The CMA has been approached for comment.Consumer rights body Which?, who had previously highlighted Ryanair's seating policy, said it should not have had to report the "unjustified charges" to the CMA to prompt action.Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: "It's clear Ryanair is unhappy about being dragged into doing the right thing, so Which? will be monitoring the implications of this policy and whether all parents are seated next to their children without charge over the next few months."