European airlines face scrutiny over infant fees exceeding adult fares

Ryanair has dropped its controversial "mandatory family seat" charge for parents travelling with children aged two to 11. The policy reversal follows an investigation by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority into whether the fee was unfair. Despite this regulatory victory, the overall cost of flying with children across Europe remains driven by a complex web of supplementary charges.

The pricing structures for infants reveal a revenue model that often defies basic economics. On Wizz Air, a one-way adult fare can cost as little as £14.99, yet an infant sitting on a parent's lap incurs a flat €32 (£28) fee per flight. This means airlines can charge more for a child who takes up no physical seat than a fully paying adult.

Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, argues the fixed-fee model creates an obvious disparity. “The idea that in-lap infants are charged more than a full adult because of some fixed fee they’ve arrived at, is clearly unfair,” he said. “Some airlines will probably be making a handy profit off the amount they’re charging for lap infants.” Wizz Air defended the practice, stating the fee “reflects standard practice across the industry.”

For children over two who require their own seat, budget carriers like Wizz Air, Ryanair and easyJet charge full adult fares, whereas British Airways offers discounts until age 12. Even after purchasing a seat, parents face psychological pricing tactics designed to extract additional spending.

Lisa Francesca Nand paid £136.50 to Wizz Air to guarantee seating next to her 11 and 13-year-old sons on a return flight to Málaga, representing more than a third of the tickets' cost. Wizz Air guarantees at least one adult will be seated next to a child under 14 for free. However, the airline noted: “We cannot guarantee that the whole family will be seated together if they do not book seats together – this is clearly stated on the Wizz Air website.”

A thicket of taxes and surcharges

Beyond seat allocation, the final ticket price is inflated by a cascade of government taxes and airline-imposed surcharges. A British Airways return flight from London to New York in July lists 11 separate extra charges for an adult, turning a base fare into an £858.59 total. The same flight sees a base infant fare of £30 balloon to £162.19 due to nine distinct fees. British Airways insists all charges are transparent and that child pricing remains lower than adult fares.

These variable costs mean a family's destination drastically alters the final bill. Taxes, passenger duties, and security levies change by jurisdiction, creating pricing anomalies on connecting flights. An infant travelling with Air New Zealand from London to Auckland pays 15% of the adult fare when routed via Los Angeles, but only 9.6% when returning via Vancouver.

For European consumers, the breakdown of airfare into dozens of line items has made budgeting for family travel nearly impossible. “Trying to work out the final cost has become incredibly complicated and frustrating,” Boland noted. While regulators have successfully challenged the most overt seating charges, the underlying unbundled business model ensures families continue to pay a premium for basic cohesion.