Ryanair is known for it’s expensive add-ons, charging travellers more for extras, including allocated seats, leg-room and, of course, luggage.
But consumer giant Which? say there’s one particular fare that sees travellers paying more than they need to.
When booking a flight from London to Alicante for a family of four on the airline’s website, Which?, like all customers, was offered the opportunity to upgrade from a ‘Basic’ fare to ‘Regular’.
The ‘Regular’ ticket came with priority boarding, carry-on luggage and seat selection.
However, Which? crunched the numbers, and compared this upgraded fare, versus sticking with the ‘Basic’ option, and adding the individual extras separately.
Which? previously investigated these fare differences back in April 2025, and have repeated their tests this month.
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According to Which?, who looked at 15 flights to a range of locations in February 2026, ‘only once was the ‘Regular’ ticket cheaper, even if we wanted all those extras.’
They add that on seven occasions, it was actually more expensive, ‘often just by a pound or so, but sometimes much more.’
The aforementioned Stansted to Alicante flight actually cost £61 more when choosing ‘Regular’, versus ‘Basic’, with exactly the same priority boarding, cabin bags and seat selection.
A flight from Manchester to Marrakesh was £45.50 more.
Overall, Which? say they’ve conducted ‘around 30’ checks like this over the last two years.
And it’s not just the ‘Regular’ fare that this discrepancy applies to. The ‘Plus Fare’ which includes a 20kg suitcase created the same issue.
These findings are similar to the results produced in their 2025 investigation.
Should you pay for seat selection?
Which? previously conducted a survey, asking those who had not paid for seat selection across various airlines, whether they were still seated next to their travel companions.
It turns out, more than 90% of people were indeed sat with their loved ones, without paying for the privelege.
For Ryanair, that figure was 62% — meaning while it’s certainly not a guarantee, you have a decent chance of sitting with your pals.
So, if you want to save yourself around £10, it might be worth the risk.
Which? said: ‘On a summer Stansted to Malaga route we checked in February 2026 it was £35 cheaper for a family of four to choose
Basic and get those extras separately. If the family decided they didn’t need that much luggage they’d save even more.’
Here at Metro, we tried out Which?’s test for ourselves.
A return flight from Stansted to Ibiza, arriving June 4 and returning June 9 cost £325.39 for a ‘Basic’ fare. The ‘Regular’ fare offered cost £395.89.
When opting for a ‘Basic’ fare but adding the extras on separately, the flight was the exactly the same as ‘Regular’ ticket, at £395.89, meaning it was not cheaper as per Which?’s checks.
For a more last-minute flight, we looked at a Stansted to Ibiza flight, this time arriving 26 March and returning 21 March. The ‘Basic’ fare was £46.46.
Again, both the ‘Regular’ fare, and individually adding extras onto the ‘Basic’ fare worked out at the same price of £104.46.
We also checked a single flight, for February 12, from Stanstead to Dalaman, and again there was no difference in the £75.49 fare.
Which? say they took their claims to Ryanair in April 2025. In a reply shared with Metro, Ryanair said at the time: ‘Your claim that it is “cheaper” to book the basic fare and then add the same extras than to book Ryanair’s bundles is false. It is never cheaper.
‘The Ryanair bundles are a facility, which make it easier for passengers to buy and book the bundles. They are however dynamically priced, using the cheapest available fare at time of booking, and so the Ryanair bundles are the same price as the underlying air fare, plus the extras if booked separately.
‘Your claim that it is “cheaper” to book separately is false.’
How do you feel about Ryanair's ticket pricing policies?
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It's pretty confusing and complicated.
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It's reasonable and transparent.
Ryanair added: ‘As usual, this Which? report is false and inaccurate. Although since almost nobody reads Which?, and certainly nobody pays attention to your advice, we won’t either.’
When Which? approached the airline again in February 2026, it reiterated it’s previous response.
Ryanair said: ‘This is more fake news from Which. Since this is another repeat of your April 2025 article our response is exactly the same now as it was on 14 April last year.
‘Thankfully no one reads, or takes any notice of Which’s fake recycled news articles or your spurious “advice”, as our traffic growth from 200m to 208m passengers in 2025 proves.’
'I went to war with Ryanair's cage of doom'
Metro’s columnist and travel expert, Chelsea Dickenson, said: ‘Walking through the airport, I soon spotted my arch nemesis: Ryanair’s ‘cage of doom’.
‘Many a traveller has fallen victim to the bag sizer’s infamously tight measurements in the past, leaving them no option but to pay the extortionate on-the-spot fee of between £46 and £60 — just to have clean underwear on their next adventure.
‘Today, however, I vowed that would not be me, thanks to an impressive Primark 8-Wheel Hard Shell Underseat Suitcase that costs £25.
‘As someone who loves to travel but refuses to pay a penny more on cheap airfare, I am always on the lookout for an underseat bag that can make that a reality.
‘So, when I stumbled upon this gem during a routine trip to Primark – ironically while scouting for a different bag I’d heard about – I was buzzing.’
Did Chelsea win her battle? Check out her full column, here.
Do you have a story to share?
Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.
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