Are Ryanair seats random?

If you choose not to pay to reserve a seat, your seat will be assigned to you free of charge when you check in, between 24 hours and 2 hours prior to departure.



By default, Ryanair uses a random seat allocation system for any passenger who does not pay a fee to select a specific seat. If you choose the "Random Allocation" option during check-in, the system will assign you a seat anywhere on the plane, and in 2026, the algorithm is notoriously efficient at splitting up groups or families who have not paid to sit together. To avoid being seated in a middle seat or away from your companions, you must pay a seat selection fee, which typically starts at €8 to €15 for a standard seat and goes up for extra legroom or front-row options. It is important to note that if you pay for a seat, you can check in up to 60 days in advance, whereas those opting for the free random assignment can only check in between 24 and 2 hours before the flight's scheduled departure.

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If you choose not to pay to reserve a seat, your seat will be assigned to you free of charge when you check in, between 24 hours and 2 hours prior to departure.

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A maximum of four children for every one adult on the same booking will receive a reserved seat free of charge. This ensures parents of young children sit together during the flight. This will also allow you to check-in for your flight 60 days before departure.

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Seats – As expected, the seats were small. I've flown with Ryanair a number of times before so I knew what to expect, but at 17? wide with a pitch of 30”, it was a little tighter than I remember. In terms of legroom, I had space to spare around my knees, but no room to stretch out my legs.

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Ryanair is pleased to announce in today's results that it will from 1 Feb 2014 move to fully allocated seating on all Ryanair flights, making the boarding process smoother, and enabling families or other groups to ensure that they sit together.

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Check in opens 24 hours before for both Ryanair and Wizz Air. It's here where you're given the final chance to pay for a seat, or skip that part and let the airline overlords decide where you're going to sit. Essentially, the name of the game here is to wait until most people have checked in before you do so.

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Ryanair's bag policy permits you to bring one personal bag for free, which must be up to 15.7 x 7.8 x 9.8 inches (40 x 20 x 25 cm) and fit under the seat in front of you.

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The seats on Ryanair can be uncomfortable, especially when you are trying to sleep. If you want to be comfortable when flying with Ryanair, get a travel pillow. Your neck will thank you for it. While you can survive a 50-minute fly without one, 2 or 3-hour flights can cause a lot of neck pain.

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One specific Ryanair seat that is well-known for being the worst on the flight is 11A - which is a seat with no window or a tiny one that you can barely look out of.

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However, this is not done intentionally, he says, or because of any change in the seat algorithm. Instead, it is because certain seats are more desirable for those booking ahead – so Ryanair have started to “hold” them. “We want to keep certain seats available for people who might want to purchase.”

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Can I change my reserved seats after I have bought my flights or checked in? Yes. You can change your seats by going to My Booking and selecting 'change seats' on your upcoming trip.

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You are allowed a single personal item, like a backpack, however, your Ryanair cabin bag can't be larger than 25 cm x 40 cm x 20 cm. Customers with Priority tickets can bring one personal item and one piece of carry-on luggage that doesn't weigh more than 10 kilograms and isn't larger than 55 cm x 40 cm x 20 cm.

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You are allowed a single personal item, like a backpack, however, your Ryanair cabin bag can't be larger than 25 cm x 40 cm x 20 cm. Customers with Priority tickets can bring one personal item and one piece of carry-on luggage that doesn't weigh more than 10 kilograms and isn't larger than 55 cm x 40 cm x 20 cm.

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Ryanair charge per seat, not by weight. They aren't allowed to discriminate against overweight passengers. If a passenger is too wide to fit in the narrow Ryanair seats, then they'd have to pay for a second seat.

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The extra legroom seats were fabulous I'm a large man and the extra room these seats provide makes the journey comfortable and spacious. I will never travel without these seats again.

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We recommend all passengers arrive at the check-in or bag drop desk at least 2 hours before they are due to fly.

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As someone else has already said, it means the obvious — that you don't have an assigned seat yet, and an agent will assign it at the gate. I recommend you take that quite literally — get your seat assignment at the gate, not at the check-in counter.

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