Consumers will purchase a service if they believe that there is a significant chance that the will lose out in a meaningful way if they don't pay. There is a widespread belief amongst many LCC passengers in the UK that paying for seating is a waste of money. Yes those why fly LCCs very rarey or the elderly might end up being scared into paying, but if the last few times you experimented with not paying for seating and got away with it, then the incentive to pay in future is lost. There are plenty of websites giving loads of info on the 'pay for seating' ruse with LCCs
In essence, if you realise that the rumoured big bad wolf is actually a friendly old labrador who just wants you to tickle his tummy, then you're hardly going to pay again in future
Ryanair have to decide what paying for seating is about, essentially define themarketing proposition. Is it
- a way of further monetising just the weaker sections of society or
- a way to further monetise a large section of the customer base
If they want option 2, then it must be demonstrated clearly (not necessarily100% of the time) to consumers that the service has non zero value and not paying will lead to a bad outcome for passengers on a significant proportion of occasions