Does Ryanair have a policy of discouraging families?

Recently I travelled to Girona on Ryanair with my 16-month old son Jack. I was 15 weeks pregnant at the time. I wanted Jack to have his own seat as he is big for his age and to have him on my knee would have been uncomfortable. So, when I was booking online, I entered him as a child rather than an infant and paid the full fare. I have done this previously without experiencing any problems.

Coming home I was informed that despite paying for a seat for Jack he was not entitled to it because he was under two. I explained that on take-off and landing he would sit in my lap with the regulation seat belt but that once the seat belt signs were off, I would move him to his own seat. She said this was not possible due to Civil Aviation rules and told me to take all my baggage off the belt and to take it to another queue. After waiting a further 15 minutes in the new queue, I was told again that Jack could not have his seat and I would have to pay €10 to have him on my lap.

About one hour into the flight, one of the stewards approached and asked if I was pregnant. I happily confirmed that, yes, I was indeed 15 weeks pregnant. She then said I was lucky to have been allowed to fly as, according to Civil Aviation rules, pregnant women are not allowed to accompany a child on their own. She said that she would let me off this time – which I thought was very generous of her given that we were half way home.

I am curious – does Ryanair not want families on its planes? Certainly the new “Priority Boarding” rules are awful for families with young children who, even after paying their £2, have to fight their way into the massive queue with buggy and toddlers in tow. - Michelle Meadows, via e-mail

Times online family travel expert Chloe Bryan-Brown responds: Many airlines allow parents to pay for a seat for children aged from six months as long as the child is suitably restrained - usually in an approved car seat. But Ryanair is not one of them. It says it is clearly explained in its terms and conditions that, for safety reasons, infants under two years must sit on an adult's lap. Which explains why Jack wasn't allowed to travel in the seat you purchased for him.

But as for aviation rules about not allowing a pregnant woman to be in charge of a child on her own. I've never heard of that and neither had anyone at the Irish Aviation Authority (Ryanair is registered in Ireland) when I called, or the UK Civil Aviation Authority. So the flight attendant got it wrong.

Predictably, Ryanair denied that it has got something against families - even when it comes to priority boarding. A spokesman said, "Your comments about our priority boarding facility are not borne out in reality. Many families are delighted to avail of this cheap and efficient facility. Furthermore, Ryanair is encouraging families to fly by providing them with fares which are on average half the cost of our nearest competitor and with far fewer delays as well".

Fair point. But, and this is a big but, a recent report has found that flights with budget airlines can be up to 35 per cent more expensive than those offered by full-price carriers.Trading Standards officers said that charging for extras such as sitting together, baggage and priority boarding pushes prices up and called for the airlines to make their headline costs clearer.

So the next time you think about flying with Ryanair it might be worth looking around for a better deal. Admittedly, Ryanair is the main provider of flights to Girona from the UK but there are a number of charter flights available. EasyJet, which flies to nearby Barcelona, allows parents to purchase a seat for infants.

Got a question about family travel? Email our trio of experts at yoursay@timesonline.co.uk - Chloe Bryan-Brown takes care of questions for the 0-6 year olds, Emma Mahony handles the 7-12 age group and Jane Owen the teenage and single parent groups.

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