Why Ryanair's new strategy is bad

I am sure you are already familiar with Ryanair's business model. It's a low-cost airline that basically allows you to travel almost everywhere in Europe at a reasonable price. In return, passengers have to pay for extra services: checking luggage, printing boarding cards at the airport, ordering food and drinks on board or choosing seats for example. "Low Fares. Made Simple" as the company slogan tells us. And it's perfectly fine! But a few weeks ago, Ryanair changed its seat policy. I think they made a mistake and here is why.

As I mentioned, choosing your seat is part of the chargeable services. For a few euros, you can decide where to spend the flight ; otherwise, you are allocated a random seat. Usually, when you booked tickets for several people, you would be given seats near each other. It's over! Now, if you don't pay, Ryanair will separate you on purpose by giving you the least popular seats - meaning at the very front and very back of the plane and on the middle seat. With this new strategy, two adults could travel at the front (07B and 09B), while their child would stay at the back of the plane (33B). Alone. This example is based on my experience. The reason is pretty simple to understand: Ryanair wants to make you pay to avoid such situations. Random has become ransom...

Well, what's so bad about it? After all, it is not that big of a deal: selecting a seat only costs a few euros more and the flight tickets themselves are already low. I don't agree.

Ryanair clearly shows disdain toward its customers and no one likes to be played for a patsy... which means that many passengers are likely to refuse to pay. That being said, Ryanair also shows disdain toward its employees who may have to deal with further issues:

• Passengers frustration. Because they don't sit next to their friends or family, passengers may challenge the cabin crew. A child crying between two strangers, people talking between rows and standing up more frequently... I hope the staff will be trained and prepared to tackle that.
• Time loss. Time is money and I thought Rynair understood it. Time management is especially crucial for Ryanair's business model as they have to reduce time spent on the ground to assure more flights and more revenues. But the seat policy may make it more difficult. People would take more time to board, trying to argue with their neighbours to change seats. If the negotiation works, the risk to frustrate customers who paid for this service is a serious one. If the negotiation fails, tensions may arise against cold-hearted passengers. As if that were not enough, people could also take more time to leave the plane, waiting for scattered friends and family members.
• Revenue loss. You may think this strategy will help Ryanair increase its revenues by selling more seats but I think it's not so easy. A considerable source of money for such companies is selling drinks and food on board. These sales may decrease for two reasons. The first one is called "retaliation". People may reduce their expenses on board to express their dissatisfaction. Or maybe that little child seating alone don't have money to pay that chocolate bar. Too bad, if he were seating next to his mom, I am sure he would have convinced her to pay for it. Children often have persuasive arguments, you know.

Ironically enough, passengers may be given random middle seats on different rows while other seats of the same row are still free at the end! I can't wait to see if Ryanair will stick to this strategy and how it will impact its business in reality.