Ryanair to Make Child-Free Flights a Reality?

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Ryanair has a history of irking people with its harsh fees and generally sour disposition, but the Irish low-cost carrier has finally hit upon an idea (some) people might like: child-free flights.

According to TravelMole, the airline said it will introduce the option in October. It’s not clear yet if specific routes or all routes will get child-free options, or how they will be scheduled. Ryanair has only said the option will be available on high-frequency routes, presumably including a mix of business and vacation destinations. And since this is Ryanair, customers will likely have to pay a premium for a kid-free flight.

Spokesperson Stephen McNamara discussed the idea in typical Ryanair fashion: “When it comes to children, we all love our own but would clearly prefer to avoid other people’s little monsters when travelling.”

More usefully, he explained, “While half our passengers would like us to divide our cabins up into ‘adult’ and ‘family’ areas, it is not operationally possible due to our free seating policy, with optional priority boarding.

“However, with clear demand for ‘child free’ flights, Ryanair will introduce child free flights on high frequency routes from the start of our winter schedule in October.”

Just how serious this is remains to be seen. Ryanair has floated enough wacky ideas in the past that it would be foolish to take this one at face value, especially with April Fool’s day right around the corner. But unlike pay-to-use toilets, this concept may actually have some support among customers.

Readers, would you pay a premium to fly on a child-free flight?