Originally Posted by
occasional
Ryanair seem to be on very dodgy legal ground here, particularly because they are redefining the nature of a contract.
When you make a contract it is assumed that the other party to that contract will act in good faith and not deliberately do something which is to your disadvantage. When you hire a car you do not expect it to be without fuel despite the fact that this may not be mentioned in the documentation.
In this case Ryanair appear to be acting in bad faith and deliberately disadvantaging customers. I would expect some form of legal response fairly quickly.
Not sure of that. Contractually I don't believe they've done or are doing anything in breach of contract. They agree to provide 'a seat' on their flight in return for your paid airfare. If you further contract to purchase a specific seat allocation, they provide it (subject to operational safety requirements). I don't believe the legal contract argument carries weight at all, though interesting viewpoint nonetheless.
General Conditions of Carriage
6.1 All flights operate with allocated seating, we reserve the right to assign or reassign seats at any time, even after boarding of the aircraft. This may be necessary for operational, safety or security reasons.
and 6.2 mentions the following:
Effective from October 2016 for an adult travelling with children under 12 (excl. infants) – it will become mandatory for one adult in the booking to reserve a seat. All children under 12 in the same booking will receive a reserved seat free of charge. This ensures parents and young children sit together during the flight. This will also allow you to check-in for your flight 60 days before departure.
Also, as detailed under the Ryanair regulations on specific subjects under their General T&Cs the following is clearly stated:
Reserved seating
Customers can select and buy their preferred seat online from the time of booking right up to 2 hours before each booked flight.
There are 3 types of allocated seat available for purchase:
Priority with extra legroom Seats from £/€ 11.00 - Rows 1,2 (D,E,F) & 16,17 (includes priority boarding)
Priority Seats from £/€7.00 - Rows 2 (A,B,C)3 -5 (includes priority boarding)
Passengers who have purchased Priority Boarding will not be asked to place their cabin bag in the aircraft hold, unless necessary due to operational reasons.
Standard Seats from £/€2.00 – Rows 6-15 & 18-33
Allocated seat fees are non-refundable except as provided in Articles 4.2, 10.2, 10.3 and 10.4
Customers who do not wish to select and purchase their preferred seat, can check-in online between 4 days and 2 hours before each booked flight and will be randomly allocated a seat free of charge.