Fury as Ryanair seats passengers 'rows apart' unless they pay to sit together 1 June 2017 at 5:27PM in Flights, currency & car hire 129 replies 19.6K views

Former_MSE_Megan_F

Irate passengers have accused Ryanair of routinely allocating groups of travellers seats in different rows in a bid to force them to pay to sit together, with some claiming the budget airline has changed its seating policy.....

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'Fury as Ryanair seats passengers 'rows apart' unless they pay to sit together'

[Deleted User]

It's quite possible I suppose.
But all Ryanair's flights are short haul and the missus and I have no problem being sat in different parts of the plane - mainly because Ryanair are consistently the cheapest airline for every route we ever fly.
If you don't like their policy don't fly with them.

richardw

They are doing this because they need the revenue stream and because they aren't getting enough revenues from checked baggage and food n drink sales on board.

unforeseen

Mrs & I sit separately on Ryanair flights anyway. I like a front seat with plenty of legroom to put my legs out straight, mrs doesn't like it there and prefers to sit elsewhere in a window seat.

So we actually pay to sit separately.

MacMickster

If being sat together is important to you, why wouldn't you pay a few pounds to ensure that your trip isn't spoilt.

Trying to save a measly few quid and then complaining that you only got what you chose to pay for and so your trip/holiday experience was spoilt seems a bit strange to me.

IAmWales

Fury, irate, despicable ...

How many overreactions can you get in one article?

Caz3121

I suspect previously it did issue seats together but the passengers then cottoned on that they could save a few £s as they would still get seats together without paying so there was no need to
A small fudge to the system (possibly a temporary one...) then makes people realise they will not get 2 seats together unless they pay (fair to the people that do choose to pay) and they cannot really complain because it was their choice to not pay
"outrage" from passengers in the press and now those that do want to sit together pay for it.....
They may well fudge it back once the % paying reaches a certain number...then you have just a few passengers that are "so happy and grateful" that the airline managed to seat them together as they were expecting to be sat apart

bagand96

I suspect previously it did issue seats together

Pretty sure that's the case. I think previously the system was quite logical and filled flights up row by row when people checked in (obviously taking into account pre-booked seats). This meant as long as you checked in early you stood a very good chance of getting seats together.

Now it actively seats people apart deliberately. I checked in among the first to do so when free check in opened the other week.... 2 of us sat 14 rows apart. Both in empty rows, with empty rows all around.

It is cheeky, because the website then reminds you "you are sat 14 rows apart, click here to select a different seat" (for £2 obviously!).

Cant say I was outraged or furious. It is a bit sh*tty though. Goes against their "always getting better" strategy of a couple of years ago when it seemed they were changing for the better. This is definitely a move back to the Ryanair of old...

zagfles

Already a thread on this, can mods merge?

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5657472

Caz3121

I think it would be easier if they displayed the price including the seat selection fee and then offered a discount to de-select it which means they are choosing to sit apart...bonus for single travellers if they are not bothered where to sit.
I guess that goes against their policy of showing cheap fares but I suspect less people would deselect it than currently choose not to add it.

zagfles

Well it does "look" random - we're 10 rows apart outbound and 2 rows apart inbound. All aisle seats so not a problem strolling down the plane for a chat - and perhaps if there are any spare seats...