No-frills, lo-cost, Ryanair airline to experiment with seat assignments

By Ben Mutzabaugh
April 19, 2011

European low-cost giant Ryanair will begin taking seat reservations, introducing the option for a fee of 10 euros ($14) each way as part of a trial basis on two routes.

With the move, the Financial Times says Ryanair "is breaking with one of the key principles of the low-cost airline model."

The London Guardian picks up on that theme, saying "until now it had been standard wisdom among low-cost operators that seat reservations could hamper the swift turnaround times that are so key to budget flying and would, therefore, increase costs."

But Ryanair appears to think prospect of capitalizing on the demand for preferred seats is worth the risk of abandoning an all-open-seating policy.

Still, Ryanair will move cautiously, introducing the option on just two routes from Dublin.

Beginning in mid-May, the carrier -- notorious for unpopular fees and charges -- will add the reserved-seat option on flights from Dublin to London Gatwick and Malaga, Spain.

Ryanair will open 24 seats for reservations on its 737 jets, including the first two rows of the plane -- which promise quick entrance and exit access -- and the two exit-rows, which offer extra legroom.

"If this new service proves popular with passengers then we will roll it out selectively on other Ryanair routes in the coming months," Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara tells the Guardian.

McNamara says there's no set time limit for the trial, but tells FlightGlobal.com "I would think it would be fairly evident from one to two months in whether or not it's going to be popular."

FlightGlobal.com adds "McNamara says that the impetus for the trial comes from passenger feedback surveys, with business travelers and taller passengers commenting that they would value reserved seating. This is particularly so on flights that carry a healthy percentage of business passengers, such as the Dublin-Gatwick sector."

On that topic, Bloomberg News writes Ryanair's trial comes as discount airlines look "to lure more business travelers and boost average fares after exhausting most avenues for raising revenue through paid-for perks such as checked bags."

For U.S. aviation industry observers, Ryanair's move is likely to renew speculation about whether Southwest -- the USA's largest low-cost carrier -- should consider such a measure.

Southwest has remained the nation's lone significant hold out against reserved seating, saying it's current open-seating policy speeds the boarding process and allows it to get its planes back in the air faster.

Dow Jones Newswires notes "Southwest (has) looked at assigned seating but (has so far) opted against the practice."

However, Southwest has been adding options such as "EarlyBird Check-in" and Business Select fares, which guarantee fliers early boarding and -- with that -- first dibs at preferred seating.

Dow Jones notes that while U.S. network carriers have offered seat reservations for decades, they too "have started charging extra for (seats) offering extra legroom or speedier boarding and exit" during the past few years.

As for the timing of Ryanair's decision to push ahead with the experiment, the Financial Times writes: "One analyst said the move was likely to be prompted by the need to offset the rising cost of fuel, with the price of a barrel of crude up around $120 from $96 at the start of the year."

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