Depending on who you speak to, Ryanair may have a trick up its sleeve.
The Independent compiled some quotes from various travelers who offer anecdotal evidence that the airline may be sending its consumers to the middle seats or separating parties if they don't go the extra mile and pony up for seat upgrades.
Passenger Chris Jones recounted a recent trip with his wife: "The allocated seats we were given were in rows 8 and 32. We couldn't have been further apart! I checked the seating on the flight. At the time of my check-in more than 60 per cent of the seats still available for purchase. Are Ryanair allowed to do this? It appears to be a cynical attempt by the airline to make you buy a seat."
Patrick Gover is another traveler who noticed something screwy. On a trip with 20 fellow golfers, he observed that those who had paid for legroom got it but the others were sent to the equivalent of airline prison: the middle seats around the plane.
Gover explains: "No doubt that the airline will argue that these are the 'least desirable' seats but the cynic in me thinks that they are actually pushing people towards paying the seat-preference supplement."
The Independent received word back from Ryanair, which denied that it was coercing consumers to purchase better seats by peppering them around the less desirable portions of the cabin. A spokesperson explained: "Customers who do not wish to purchase a seat are randomly allocated a seat, free of charge. Customers can purchase their preferred allocated seat from just €2."
Don MacKenzie disagrees after a recent trip from the UK to Croatia: "On the way out, we were assigned seats alongside each other. However when we booked in on the return flight we (his group of four) were all given 'random' seat places which were all over the aircraft, but coincidentally were only in seats B or E (middle seats)."
MacKenzie does note that you still can't beat the price: "This consequently meant that quite a few groups were not sitting in the seats allocated to them, as a lot of swapping between passengers occurred. Is this a tactic by Ryanair to charge more per seat? In their defense the flights were only about £50 each way."
[READMORE]READ MORE: British Airways Reducing Legroom on Short-Haul Flights [/READMORE]
As noted, it is Civil Aviation Authority policy that airlines must sit adults and their children near one another. When it comes to groups of adults, however, you are on your own.
Ryanair refutes the above claims. It doesn't really have to, though, as it can indeed offer a less desirable product if that's what it's doing with regular, non-upgrade seats. It should come as no surprise as the airline is one of a few brands offering an a la carte experience for those who don't want the fluff and comfort of options.
The problem here is transparency, and the modern traveler is savvy enough to see what an airline is (allegedly) attempting.
The Sun compiled some more outrage by way of social media. Jessica Southcott wondered, "Ryanair, are you doing a social experiment by seating EVERYONE separately?!"
Another, Chris Carter, tweeted: "Ryanair, why are three of us allocated middle seats rows apart when all around are empty - a nasty cynical change in your seating policy?"
This may be all about one bout of coincidence that has separated parties and stuffed the more frugal into middle seats. Then again, Ryanair may be trying some things out at the moment. If so, it's a swing a miss with consumers.
€2 says Ryanair probably doesn't care.
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