Ryanair cabin crew offers insider tip on the best way to sit with passengers with out paying extra

A former Ryanair cabin crew member has shared the best things to do when you’re trying to sit with your loved ones without paying the various extra fees

Many passengers feel they paying for reserved seating when flying on lines such as Ryanair – known as “priority boarding” – especially as a means to avoid the middle seat. But now, a former flight attendant has shared a clever trick that could allow your party to sit together without shelling out the extra cash and maybe causing an incident.

Travel expert and former cabin crew member Jane Hawkes revealed that while this tactic isn’t suitable for everyone, it can work wonders for groups of friends, couples or adult travellers. She advised: “Obviously if you’re travelling with children you might not want to do this.

“Because if you’re travelling as a family, you’ll probably want your children with you to keep an eye on them. But if you’re travelling with friends or a partner, then never pay to book a seat together”, reports Chronicle Live.

Instead, the travel expert suggests holding off until you’re on the plane and then having a word with the cabin crew or other passengers. She added: “Just wait to get onboard and then say ‘we’re travelling together and we didn’t realise we’d be separated’.

“You could just ask other passengers around you, who can be very accommodating. It’s worth asking but there’s not much point asking before you get onboard,” reports Chronicle Live.

Jane also highlighted that fellow travellers are often more inclined to help if it means they can escape an unwanted middle seat. Ryanair offers a range of seating choices, with prices varying depending on the seat location, route, travel dates and whether the seat is reserved at the time of booking or at the airport.

The most budget-friendly option is the standard seats, which will set you back between €4.50 and €21.50 per flight. Extra legroom seats, usually located in the first two rows, are the most expensive, with prices ranging from €12 to €38 per flight.

Additional extra legroom seats situated further back in the cabin cost between €8 and €26 per flight. Front seats, covering rows 2 to 5, are slightly cheaper than extra legroom seats, costing between €7.50 to €24.50 per flight.

Families jetting off with children under 12 – barring infants – are required to comply with Ryanair’s obligatory family seating policy. A minimum of one adult must buy a reserved seat and be seated adjacent to their offspring, though the airline allows up to four children to have free reserved seats in rows 18 and 33, while charges for compulsory family seats vary from €4.50 to €13.50 per flight.

It comes as Ryanair was forced to upgrade the size of its carry-on luggage in order to comply with European rules. Instead of an average bag having 40cm x 20cm x 20cm as its maximum dimensions, Ryanair was told it must increase this to 40cm x 30cm x 20cm, allowing many passengers to breathe a sigh of relief.

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